Mirepoix

A traditional French mixture containing finely diced carrots, onions, and celery, seasoned with minced herbs, and sauteed in butter is commonly called mirepoix (pronounced: "meer-pwah"). A bit of smoked meat is sometimes added to the dish to add flavor, small cubes of ham or bacon. A mirepoix is used to season stews, soups, sauces, and fricasses. It is also common to use it as a base for braising meats or fish.

Ingredients:

1 cup diced white onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
2 tablespoons butter
dash pepper

Directions:

Dice the onion, carrot, and celery in small, uniform pieces. Melt butter in a cast iron frying pan over medium heat. Add celery, carrot, onion, and pepper. Sautee until vegetables are tender.

Mirepoix is great cooked with chicken or beef in a crock pot. With beef try adding some canned green beans and some diced tomatoes, with a bit of garlic, pepper, basil, oregano, and just a slim dash of cilantro.

After frying pork chops, you can deglaze the pan by pouring in some of the mixture after the meat has fried and quickly removing the caramelization - do not allow the mirepoix to burn, but just pick up the flavor of the meat and caramel. A little can be poured over the chops like a sauce when they are served.

There are many more ways of using mirepoix, the only limit is your imagination.

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