Mirepoix Savory Base Staple

If you’re a fan of being prepared, you’re going to love my recent discovery: Mirepoix, a savory base staple. Pronounced meer-PWAH, it’s a sautéed mixture of diced vegetables (such as carrots, celery, and onions) and herbs, used especially as a basis for soups, stews, and sauces.

A Little History

Be still my heart! I’ve been cooking like this for years and didn’t even know it has a fancy name, from a fancy French aristocrat. The Duke Charles-Pierre-Gaston François de Lévis, duc de Mirepoix had a cook who established this mix of ingredients in French cooking in the 1700s. Poor cook, ran with the idea and his boss took the credit by putting his name on it.

Reminds me of a story I read in the book Starbucked about the barista who created the Starbucks Frappuccino. He wasn’t acknowledged for it, so he made a t-shirt that says, “I invented the frappuccino and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.” Poor Mirepoix’s cook needs a t-shirt. Or an honorarium.

The traditional method is to use two parts onion, one part celery, and one part carrot, all diced small. It’s then sautéed slowly and without browning in butter or oil to enhance the flavors, Mirepoix is the base for a wide variety of savory dishes. It’s a staple that can be prepared in bulk ahead of time, frozen, and taken out to add when making any of these great meals:

• Chicken Soup
• Lentil Soup
• Ham and Bean Soup
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chicken and Noodles
• Hamburger Casserole
• Shepherd’s Pie

I think carrots, celery, and onion are my most-often-used vegetables. So to find out that they have such a rich heritage makes me feel a bit…aristocratic. Or at least I cook for one.

Mirepoix

a savory base for many chicken and beef dishes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Packaging Time 5 mins

Total Time 48 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 7 cups

Ingredients

  

• 4 c onion about 3 medium
• 2 c celery about 6 stalks
• 2 c carrots about 6
• 2 t olive oil
• 1 t salt
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 t parsley
• 1 t rosemary

Instructions

 

• Chop all vegetables into a small dice
• Heat oil in large frying pan and add vegetables
• Keep heat at medium and allow the vegetables to slowly saute. Sprinkle with spices and continue to stir until tender.
• Fill freezer bags with one- and two-cup portions for your future recipes. You may choose to reserve a cup or two for what you are preparing right now.
• Remove excess air from bags, flatten, and store in freezer until ready to use.

Of course, you can also make a much smaller batch of this if you don’t want to put any away in the freezer. One cup onion with one-half cup each celery and carrots would suffice for many recipes.