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Mirepoix magic
Keep the ratio to two parts onion to one each of celery and carrot
“Mirepoix (pronounced meer-pwah) is one of the building blocks of savoury cooking. It’s a French term for the mixture of chopped onion, carrot and celery that forms the starting point for countless braises, stews, casseroles, soups and sauces.”
Food writer (and self-confessed food obsessive) Lucas Hollweg
Why the fancy name?
Like so much in French gastronomy, it’s named after a person, in this case Charles- Pierre-Gaston François de Lévis, duc de Lévis-Mirepoix, whose chef is credited with coming up with the combination in the 18th century. It’s also much easier to say “mirepoix” than listing all the ingredients (or indeed using his whole name).