Food Rookie: Mirepoix

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Mirepoix, is a French cooking basic, it simply means the combination of carrot, onion, and celery in a dish. This food staple can be the base or topping for everything from simple soups to extravagant meals like Emeril Lagasse's Ribollita.

Today we are going to use it to add the solid foundation to simple sautes. The combination of a Mirepoix is two parts onion, one part carrot, one part celery. The steps below will tell you how to make several flavorful yet effortless meals with this combination. The fact that this recipe staple is made of three produce items I buy and store in bulk, makes it even more appealing to use.

Mirepoix Combinations:

• Saute a Mirepoix, after pan frying meat, until tender. Make sure you deglaze the pan with the vegetable combination, serve together as a dish.
• Chop it small and saute it with more vegetables, server it as a compliment to a main course.
• Add meat to a Mirepoix, with just one or two slices of bacon or sausage for a wonderfully tasty meal.
• Saute with mushrooms, when clear remove from heat and add a spoon fool of bread crumbs, insert in to meat and broil. For a wonderful and satisfying stuffed meal.
• Saute with spinach and add a salty cheese or tomato and stuff in fish to broil.
• Brown chicken in a rice pan or skillet, then add Mirepoix. Saute until tender, add garlic, bay leaf, and chicken spice. Saute a moment until garlic is tender then add dry rice, mix well. Add water (or broth) to cover and simmer until rice is tender and chicken is cooked threw. Use more water or broth as needed.

A Mirepoix is a true stepping stone for any one learning how to get around the kitchen. Below are some links to the Mirepoix.

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Links: chefspencil.com; wikipedia.org; christonium.com; classical-french-cuisine.suite101.com;