Mirepoix... More like, MirePOW!

A little down time before class and spent the day preparing for tomorrows catering gig so I thought I'd share another tid bit from cooking school. Never knew the term for it, nor did I know its importance in a soup/stock/sauce but the Mirepoix is powerful in the soup and the kitchen.
Mirepoix pronounced "meer-pwa" is a mixture of onions, celery and carrots. 50% white/yellow onion, 25% celery, 25% carrot that is used to flavor soups/stocks/stews. Sometimes it is sauteed before the liquid is added, or as Chef will say "sweat your mirepoix" as in sauté it a little. But sometimes you just drop the mirepoix in the stock and let it work its flavorful magic. Next time you are playing around in your kitchen with a soupy recipe, it wouldn't hurt to have celery, carrot and onion in your fridge. And bonus, those items stay fresh for awhile!
Example, we'll "sweat the mirepoix" and add a lil tomato paste (1-2 tbs), we'll mix it in and then add a stock (another reason to keep stock in your fridge, *see past blog post). Last night we did this procedure to make a Minestrone. It was so SIMPLE. After we added the stock, we added whatever veggies we could find, beans, seasons and a macaroni noodle. It is almost too easy!