Mirepoix technique or cut. What is it and how is it prepared?

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The mirepoix cutting technique or type is a combination of vegetables cut into small dice of one centimeter or one and a half centimeters or so. The three basic ingredients are celery, carrot and onion, although you can also include leek, turnip, aromatic herbs… the broth or soup resulting from its cooking is also known as Mirepoix .

It is usually prepared to flavor sauces, roasts, broths and soups. Although in French cuisine and its cuisines it is called the type of cut used for vegetables.

It is said that he was the cook who served the French aristocrat  Duke of Lévis-Mirepoix , who in the 18th century invented it or at least made this technique famous. Mirepoix, in addition to being a French town near the Pyrenees, refers to a type of cutting, also known as rough mode , which is applied to vegetables such as brunoise or julienne cutting and consists of cutting all the ingredients into smaller cubes. or less of the same size, on the other hand, is one of the essential aromatic bases of the kitchen.

As I told you, there are three basic vegetables in this technique. They are aromatic vegetables that leave a background of extraordinary flavor and many people even remove them once they are cooked, so they do not have to have a regular cut. When preparing it, there are several methods:

• One option and the most common is to cook them over low heat with butter or oil.
• Another option, especially when it is to accompany meats, is to mark it first in the fat that has been released from the meat.

How is classic or more traditional mirepoix prepared?

It is very simple to prepare, but the main thing we must take into account are the proportions, twice as much onion is always used as celery and carrot.

1. We start by washing and drying the vegetables, removing any unnecessary layers . We cut all the vegetables into cubes of approximately 1 cm.
2. Heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan over low heat (or you could also do it with butter) and add the vegetables with a little salt. We let them cook until they gradually release their juices and color, so they should be tender, but avoiding them sticking to the bottom and picking up a smell.
3. It is important that the onion is transparent and the carrot and celery tender. We reserve and use according to the recipe we are going to prepare.

Types or versions of mirepoix

There are several types of mirepoix, depending on the type of vegetables and cooking, but there are also specific variants:

• Mirepoix  au gras  or fat . As its name indicates, the vegetables are sautéed with a fatty ingredient such as pancetta or bacon.
• White Mirepoix . The vegetables are usually cooked directly raw in water or broth , resulting in a very light sauce. It is almost always used for fumets or short broths.
• Mirepoix matignon . This type is characterized because it has a ham bone incorporated that is not discarded, giving a delicious flavor and aroma.
• Dark Mirepoix . More appropriate for sauces or meat stocks, we start with a stir-fry where the vegetables are sautéed or caramelized with oil or butter, very slowly until the vegetables brown or caramelize. A way to add more flavor later to the broth that we are going to prepare.
• Pinçage . It is a very similar variant that also contains tomato or its concentrate.
• Holy Trinity or ” Holy trinity”  is the basis of Cajun cuisine, which includes peppers instead of carrots.