• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

CASA Veneracion: Online Cooking Class

Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Midnight Snack.

  • About
  • Cooking Class
  • Recipe Index
  • Search
  • Learn to Cook in 10 Weeks
    • How to Cook, Lesson 1: Know Your Ingredients
  • Recipes By Type
    • Appetizers & Snacks
    • Bread & Breakfast
    • Superb Soups
    • Chicken, Duck & Turkey
    • Fish & Seafood
    • Meatless
    • Mighty Meaty
    • Noodles
    • Rice & Grains
    • Sandwiches & Wraps
    • Side Dishes
    • Sweets & Desserts
    • Drinks
You are here: Home / Kitchen & Pantry / Mirepoix, sofrito and deglazing: deciphering European cooking

Mirepoix, sofrito and deglazing: deciphering European cooking

12/03/2013 //  by Connie Veneracion

casaveneracion.com mirepoix

It has often been said that as diverse as cuisines are, they share some really basic things. Grilled marinated meat is found everywhere. So is bread.

And then there’s the stew. Every cuisine has a version of stew which may or may not include meat or seafood. Admittedly, a Spanish stew will not necessarily taste the same as a Scandinavian stew. Every stew differs in the mix of meat or seafood, if present, the combination of vegetables and the base sauce. And that brings me to mirepoix and sofrito.

The vegetable and aromatic base

In France, many dishes, including stews, start with a base called mirepoix (pronounced meer-pwah) — equal amounts of chopped onion, carrot and celery cooked gently in oil or butter until soft. In Spain, there is sofrito which has many variants but the most common being garlic, onion, peppers (pimientos) and tomatoes sautéed in olive oil. There is the Italian soffritto which often includes garlic, shallots, leeks and a myriad of fresh herbs. And there is the Cajun and Creole Holy Trinity which has equal amounts of onions, bell peppers and celery.

Every culinary culture has its version of this basic of basics. In the Philippines, we call it ginisa.

MY LATEST VIDEOS
MY LATEST VIDEOS

So, despite the exotic and sometimes unpronounceable words, it boils down to ginisa. It’s the base for many wonderful things.

casaveneracion.com mirepoix2

It goes without saying that if you intend to cook a French-style stew, you can’t start with a Filipino ginisa mix. You start with mirepoix.

casaveneracion.com mirepoix3

Just chop equal amounts of onion, carrot and celery, heat some butter (a combination of butter and oil is quite okay) and you cook the vegetables gently with a little seasoning (salt and pepper are the most basic) until they are softened and aromatic.

Deglazing

In many dishes, the mirepoix is prepared in the pan where meat has been browned (see “Do we really need to brown meat before braising or stewing?“). The vegetables are thrown into the pan and cooked in the oil where the meat has been browned. The vegetables get mixed with the browned bits that stick on the bottom of the pan and absorb the flavors. Then, liquid is poured in, usually wine or broth (water is a bad idea), to deglaze, loosening everything that sticks to the pan so that it becomes a part of the base of the sauce.

Mastering the basics

Learning how to cook, and learning a new cuisine especially, is not about recipes. It is about understanding and mastering the basics. While it may be convenient to pick up a packet of seasoning mix from the grocery shelf, real cooking requires a little more curiosity, interest and involvement.

Kitchen & PantryCooking Basics

More Like This

How to Stir Fry: A Practical Guide For Home Cooking

How to Stir Fry: A Practical Guide For Home Cooking

Stir frying temperature is at least 450F. Stir fry with oil with a smoke point below 450F and the will not only taste bad, it will be a health hazard too.

When Stir Frying, Always Use Oil with a High Smoke Point

Tips on how to tenderize meat: cut across the grain, pound with a kitchen mallet, soak in baking soda or pureed fruits that contain protease.

How to Tenderize Meat

Come wok with me as I cook a hundred dishes using just one carbon steel wok.

Buying a Wok? Make it Carbon Steel.

Burgers, like steaks or any other grilled meat for that matter, needs to rest before they are served.

You Don’t Need A Fancy Grill to Cook Perfect Burgers

How to cook pilaf: a step-by-step guide with photos

How To Cook Pilaf

The secret to a good Chinese-style fried rice is to start by creating a flavor base. The vegetables are stir fried, the cooked meat is added followed by the rice and, finally, the eggs. Season every step of the way.

How To Cook Chinese-style Fried Rice

How To Cook Rice: On The Stovetop, With A Rice Cooker, In the Microwave

How To Cook Rice: Stovetop, Rice Cooker, Microwave

How to extract tamarind juice: mash the tamarind to press out the juice

How to extract tamarind juice

When I make bone broth, I spent around 15 minutes spooning off scum that floats on top of the liquid. Some people say it is unnecessary. Is it?

Do You Really Need to Skim Off Scum on the Surface of Your Bone Broth?

Roast turkey is not just about sticking the bird in the oven. How to thaw, pros and cons of stuffing and ensuring doneness are important considerations.

The Smart (and Safe) Way to Roast Turkey

Mortar and Pestle

How To Use the Mortar and Pestle Correctly

Previous Post: «I prepared a ground pork mixture a la embutido, packed it in a small loaf pan and I baked it, Western meatloaf style. It looks every inch a Western meatloaf but, in flavor and aroma, it is Filipino embutido all the way. When meatloaf met embutido, and they marry
Next Post: What is a fish basket and how is it used? »

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

~ Recipes ~

  • Appetizers & Snacks
  • Superb Soups
  • Bread & Breakfast
  • Chicken, Duck & Turkey
  • Fish & Seafood
  • Mighty Meaty
  • Noodles
  • Rice & Grains
  • Sandwiches & Wraps
  • Side Dishes
  • Sweets & Desserts
  • Drinks
  • Meatless
  • Ovo-Vegetarian
  • Lacto-Vegetarian
  • Ovo-lacto Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Keto (Low Carb)

~ Popular Today ~

  • How to cook, lesson 2: know how to operate your stove and oven How to Cook, Lesson 2: Five Essential Kitchen Tools
  • Sinigang na manok (chicken and vegetables soup with tamarind extract) Sinigang na manok (chicken and vegetables soup with tamarind extract)
  • How to make: Tsokolateng tablea (Filipino hot chocolate drink) How to make: Tsokolateng tablea (Filipino hot chocolate drink)
  • What's the difference between sea salt and rock salt? What’s the difference between sea salt and rock salt?
  • Chinese-style Braised Sea Cucumbers and Shiitake Mushrooms Recipe Chinese-style Braised Sea Cucumbers and Shiitake Mushrooms

Footer

Hello There!

I'm Connie Veneracion: cook, crafts enthusiast, researcher, reviewer, story teller and occasional geek.

Read more about me, the cooks and the name of the blog. If you're wondering why commenting is off by default, read this.

I am on Pinterest, Youtube, Facebook and Instagram.

Not So Fine Print

Privacy & TOS ♥ Disclaimer ♥ Get In Touch (I don’t accept guest posts, I don’t give free links and I don’t do link exchanges. Exclude me from your round-ups too. Thank you.)

Except for public domain videos, stock images and screen grabs, all images and text © Connie, Speedy, Sam & Alex Veneracion. That means do not reproduce content without written permission from the blog owner.

Copyright © 2019 CASA Veneracion · ALL RIGHTS RESERVED · Powered by Apple, Canon, coffee & ramen.