Mirepoix

If you’ve made a crudités platter lately and set aside some of the peeled, cut, and washed carrots and celery, you are already about half way to mirepoix. This move is a classic French one. I’ve outlined it below:

1. Buy 2 pounds of carrots, 2 pounds of celery, and 4 pounds of onions.
2. Peel the carrots. When you peel, hold the carrot upside down with the root end down and twirl as you move the peeler up and down.
3. Determine whether you will be making a brown stock, a white stock, or soup. Dice the mirepoix finer for a white stock than a brown, and finer for a soup than a white stock.
4. Dice the carrots. Save the ends for stock.
5. Wash and dice the celery. Save the ends for stock.
6. Peel and dice the onions. Save the outer peel for stock.
7. At this point, you can make your stock, soup, or sauce or you can freeze for a future stock, soup, or sauce.

Why It Works:

1. This is the ratio for mirepoix.
2. You don’t have to peel in only one direction and you don’t have to peel at a 45 degree angle. Lay down some pink butcher paper if you want to catch the compost.
3. Brown stock will be simmered longer, so the veg can be chopped more coarsely. A white stock (made from animals like chicken) doesn’t need to simmer as long, so you can chop finer. A soup will come together quickly, so you want the veg small enough to be cooked through by the time all the other components are at the desired level of doneness.
4. If you are unsure, search how to dice veg for mirepoix, but don’t think you have to dice like a French chef to make a usable mirepoix.
5. I like to separate the ugly odds and ends of the carrots and celery and the peels from the unions and mix those in with the course, ugly mirepoix for stock. I save the nice pretty stuff for soups. Everything has its use.
6. Might as well divert an onion to make Quick Pickled Onions.
7. I like to make stock at the same time and freeze the best mirepoix for a future soup or sauce.

Mods:

1. The holy trinity: Swap the carrot out for green pepper if you are going to make a bunch of Cajun and Creole cuisine.
2. Soffritto: cook the mirepoix down in olive oil and you have the basis for several Italian sauces.
3. Leeks can be substituted for onions.