Mirapoix

I have a wonderful friend named Andrea. When Martha Stewart grows up she wants to be Andrea. The things Andrea can do could fill a huge book. She is the most amazing chef, she can taste a dish and figure out how to replicate it. Last year at Girls' Camp she used one of the cabins to create a kitchen complete with a refrigerator she made herself that required no electricity.

Andrea taught me how to create the perfect base to any soup. It begins with mirapoix (mir-a-pwah) Since learning this technique my homemade soups have greatly improved in depth and richness of flavor.

Let me pass on the Magic of Andrea

Mirapoix

Ingredients:
Equal parts diced:

onion
carrots
celery

olive oil

salt

liquid (according to soup you intend to make)


Directions:

The proportions are not listed because it is not an exact science. I usually use one large onion and enough carrots and celery to balance it out.


In a large soup pot slightly heat a tablespoon or so of the oil. Add the veggies and sprinkle with a bit of salt, this draws out the natural sugars in the veggies. Saute on medium heat, but don't scorch the oil, until the veggies start to caramelize and turn the bottom of the pan starts turning dark, you'll want a fairly large patch of the dark caramelization. Don't let it burn.

pan with carmelized mirapoix

Pour a small amount of the the liquid into the pan and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping at the dark patches until they loosen and are incorporated into the liquid and vegetables. The bottom of the pan should mostly "clean up" This is called de-glazing

pan that has been deglazed

Now you are ready to proceed with making your soup. Just follow your recipe from here.

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Tips and Hints

• I usually dice the veggies very fine, but they can be a little bigger if you like


• They tend to shrivel as they cook so if want a soup with a lot of chunky vegetables I would recommend adding extra chopped veggies after you have de-glazed the pan.


• You can use butter or some other fat source in place of the olive oil, just be aware of the scorching temperature of your fat.


• Sometimes I need to use up my veggies so I use more than normal, if there are too many to easily de-glaze the pan I'll scoop most of them out before de-glazing the pan, then add them back in after the pan is clean.


• Some soup recipes will call for the mirapoix ingredients and direct you to cook 10 minutes or so. I would recommend following the mirapoix directions and cooking until caramelized, as this makes the flavor so much more full.


• If your recipe calls for the three vegetables you can use those amounts as your guide.


• Mirapoix can be the basis for just about any soup you could think of (French Onion is about the only exception - for this just use lots of onion and saute it until it caramelizes)


• Even if your family does not like these veggies use them anyway, just dice them extra fine! Trust me. My husband claims to hate celery, but he loves the soups I make using celery in a mirapoix base.


• Alternate spelling: mirepoix

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