Recipes | Building a Flavorful Base Quickly

This one is for those who kinda make a thing but it turns out just a little lackluster. Welcome to the easiest way to add flavor quickly to hot meals.

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A few traditional mixtures:

Mirepoix/A french staple: often strained out after cooking out vegetables for flavor. Ingredients include chopped onions, celery, and carrots.

The Holy Trinity | Cajun South + Louisiana Creole
sauteed onions, bell peppers and celery

These are traditional and so useful .. I think dishes that are a little more hearty and spicy will obviously lean toward pairing well with the trinity. For buttery dishes that pair well with bread, you can lean toward the mirepoix.

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…That said, pretty much any warm dish I make starts with this combo.

Fat + Onion + Garlic + S&P + Wine

A little context for the fat you’ll choose:
In a cast iron pan heat one of these three fats,Avocado Oil, Butter or EVOO. Bring the fat to heat with the pan, don’t heat the pan first.

I use avocado oil most often because of the healthy fat it offers and the higher smoke point it holds. I use butter as a treat especially if it’s really cold outside and I want a much richer flavor or EVOO almost always if I’m preparing Italian food.

++ I really like to add a sprig of fresh rosemary or quite a lot of thyme just before adding the onions but it’s not required.

D I R E C T I O N S

To the heated fat, I add at least 1/2 of a medium sized white onion that’s been roughly chopped. If I’m making a larger portion of something add the whole thing.

To the tender onion ( I let them char just a little) I add the garlic 3-4 cloves chopped. I usually let the garlic sit on top of the onions so that it doesn’t burn on the pan as it burns quickly and burnt garlic is bitter.

Add s+p

Once the garlic is fragrant and the onions are kind of sticking I add about 2 cups of wine. If I want the flavor profile to be a really rich I add red wine (usually v. dry and bold). If I want it to be a little lighter or have a little acid to it I add a dry white… Never a sweet white. I quickly scrape the bottom of my pan with a flat headed wooden utensil and let it cook down until most liquid is gone. From here I continue with my recipe.

This base can be used for so many dishes. Pasta sauce (white or red), soups both broth type or cream, sauces to go on top of a dish, as the base for pozole, a ratatouille.. let your imaginations run wild, after all, if we’re not creative in the kitchen is it even fun?