Soffritto (Fried slowly) the flavour base for Italian Recipes

This is the base used for Italian sauces, soups and stews. It is an essential flavour base quick and easy to make.

Ingredients

480 g Onions

240 g Carrots

240 g Celery

100 ml Olive oil (extra Virgin) or butter

Method

The general rule requires onion, carrot, and celery with a ratio of 2-1-1 (it means 2 parts onion, 1 part carrot, 1 part celery).

Wash the vegetables, peel onion, carrot, and trimmed the celery rib, and remove the leaves.

With a sharp knife, mince or finely dice the onion, carrots, and celery. Try to keep the same size if possible.

Ingredients	chopped vegetables	frying in Olive Oil

Then Heat the olive oil in a skillet over low to medium heat. Then add in the three vegetables and cook the vegetables gently from a minimum of 5 minutes to a maximum of 20-25 minutes, take your time if you’re not in a hurry. You want to sauté them until the onion is translucent and the vegetables soft or caramelized. But don’t fry them, let alone burn them.

Kept to Fry	Put in Food Processor	kept again to fry

Since my pieces were a bit large I put the vegetables with the olive oil in a food processor and made it a bit smaller. Then I put all back in the pan and kept frying them till the vegetables get very soft.

silicon mould	filled after cooling	kept in freezer

Once cool I put the into a silicon cupcake mould, covered and put them in the freezer to set. Next day I took out of the mould and placed them all in a bag –

when ever I need them I take out one block of frozen vegetable and add it to a pan then add crushed garlic and herbs, depending what Italian dish you are making - sauce, soup or stew.

Crushed Garlic, Aromatic herbs –rosemary, bay leaves, sage, thyme and parsley. best with beef, chicken and pork (Never use mint or basil)

You could also add diced cubed meat or bacon, a dash of white wine or red wine works well with meat and legumes.

Spices you could use fresh red chili or chili flakes (paprika, cumin or turmeric are not typical ingredients).

NB:

Definition and Origin

The term soffritto comes from the Italian verb soffriggere, meaning "to sauté" or "to fry slowly" in oil or fat, and it is the past participle form of the verb, literally translating to "fried slowly".

to make a sauce:

I took a cube of Soffritto, put a little oil in a pan then when the cube melted I added 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1 tbsp Chili Flakes stirred it and then added tomato soup packet (You can use canned tomatoes if you have) and a spoon of Tomato Paste. I added some salt pepper and a little sugar. Then I added some thyme

I used a tomato soup packet (dissolved in a little water) and then added the ready made pasta and tossed it.

Pasta sauce being made with Soffritto	Pasta with Tomato, Chili, Garlic and Thyme