Mirepoix
Mirpua (lat. Mirpua) is a soup green originally from France, which is a mixture of a wide variety of root vegetables.
Description
Most often, in mirepoix you can see rutabaga, celery roots and leaves, carrots, parsley and its roots, onions, leeks, thyme, etc. True, mirepoix often consists only of onions, celery and fresh carrots. All of them are thoroughly cleaned, after which they are cut into cubes of strictly defined sizes. And only then are they cooked.
Usage
Mirepoix is mainly intended to be added to broths — this solution allows you to add more flavor to any broth. By the way, vegetable crops in completely different combinations can be added to broths, either finely chopped (for example, in French cuisine) or whole (in German cuisine). In France, mirepoix has long been as popular as a very similar mixture called matignon.
However, similar combinations of vegetables can be found in the cuisines of other countries. Sofrito in Spain includes bell peppers, garlic, celery and onions, while the similarly named Italian blend soffritto contains almost all the same ingredients except paprika. The Portuguese call the mirepoix-like mixture refogado — it consists of stewed onions, garlic and tomatoes. And in Creole and Cajun cuisines, the mirepoix mixture is jokingly called the “holy trinity” because it consists of bell peppers, celery and onions.
The technique of preparing mirepoix itself has a much longer history than the funny culinary term — the very first mentions of it were discovered only in the eighteenth century. This mixture received such an interesting name in honor of an aristocrat with the very unusual name Charles-Pierre-Gaston Francois de Levi Mirepoix. By the way, this man was well known to the French (and not only to them) as an ambassador, field marshal and member of the noble Levi family.
The popular book Larousse Gastronomique, published back in 1938, says that mirepoix can be prepared in two ways: lean (that is, exclusively from vegetables) and with meat (like matignon). At the same time, during the preparation of mirepoix, it is necessary to maintain the required proportions. So, carrots, celery and onions should be in a ratio of 1:1:2. And when preparing white mirepoix, carrots are replaced with parsnips — it gives the future delicacy its characteristic pale shades.
The calorie content of mirepoix is relatively low — only 38 kcal for every 100 g of product. But this magnificent mixture boasts a rich vitamin and mineral composition. And it is also not without useful properties.
Onions, which are part of mirepoix, are an excellent antimicrobial agent: the phytoncides it contains mercilessly kill not only streptococci, but also tuberculosis, dysentery and diphtheria bacilli. They also have a beneficial effect on the kidneys.
Celery is an excellent helper for slowing down the aging process, endowed with pronounced calming properties and widely used in the treatment of various nervous disorders (primarily caused by overwork). It is often included in the diet of people suffering from diabetes, and is recommended for use by older people — the ability of this culture to significantly improve water-salt metabolism works real miracles!
And carrots in mirepoix are great for bronchitis, bronchial asthma, anemia, pneumonia, tuberculosis and various cardiovascular ailments. It will also serve well for a number of skin diseases, as well as for gastritis with low acidity and kidney and liver diseases.
