What is Soffritto (stir-fried vegetable sauce base)? It may be a bit far to explain directly, but let's talk about Bologna bolognese noodles first.
A good Spaghetti Bolognese should look like this: sweet and sour tomato sauce mixed with delicious minced meat, slipped into your mouth with pasta, with a rich and rich flavor. But the reality is that you often eat empty and bland bolognese noodles, either with a single taste or a significant canned taste.
How do you make Bologna bolognese noodles to be delicious? In fact, there is a very important key, and that is Soffritto.
In Italy, Soffritto means stir-fried vegetables, which refers to the process of chopping onions, carrots and celery, stir-frying with oil until soft. The finished Soffritto can be used as a base for soups, stews and various sauces, and is very practical although the preparation process is time-consuming. Prepared in large quantities at a time and refrigerated for about three days, whether it's scrambled eggs, baked eggs, scrambled vegetables or ready-made pasta sauce, Soffritto's layered flavors can instantly rescue bland dishes.
Let's take a look at how Soffritto does it!
Material:
1 onion
1-2 carrots
1-2 stalks celery
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cream
※The amount of onion, carrot and celery should be the same, but the actual vegetable size varies.
Steps:
1. Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery. If you're a little lazy, you can also break it with a food prep machine, but remember not to break it into a mess.
2. Pour cream and olive oil into a frying pan, stir-fry the onion over low heat until transparent and fragrant, then add the carrots and celery.
3. Remember to stir during the process until the vegetables are soft and golden brown. This process can be as short as 30 minutes or as long as 1 hour, depending on personal preference.
The finished Soffritto has a caramelized color that concentrates the best of all the ingredients without a single onion, carrot or celery. When added to a dish, it does not require whipped cream or excessive salt to give the dish a rich taste like stock.
Make Soffritto and try Bologna Bologne Bolognese!
Material:
1 kg of ground beef, or the same amount of ground beef mixed with ground pork
100 ml milk
100 ml red or white wine
540 g tomato purée
Steps:
1. Pour the minced meat into a Soffritto-filled pan and stir as you cook to blend the two.
2. After the meat is cooked, add milk to reduce the juice slightly, and then pour in red or white wine.
3. Pour in the tomato paste and mix well, cover the pot to reveal small cracks, and cook slowly over low heat, at this time the surface of the meat sauce should continue to bubble, cook for at least 2 hours, and up to 6 hours to complete. The length of time depends on personal preference.
Of course, in addition to noodles with bolognese, there are other Italian dishes that use Soffritto, such as risotto, Sartu di riso (sariso) and zuppa di verza e ceci (chickpea cabbage soup).
Although some people insist that Soffritto can only have onions, carrots and celery, Soffritto also conjures up all kinds of interesting forms. If you want to try something different, you can refer to the proposal below.
1. Add minced garlic when cooking Soffritto and cook until browned.
2. When you finish cooking Soffritto, add about a tablespoon of Tomato Paste.
3. If there is any residue sticking to the pan, pour in white wine or vermouth before turning off the heat, stir-fry to dissolve the delicious residue at the bottom of the pan.
4. When the onion is soft, add ham or spicy sausage, and the fat fat makes Soffritto more fragrant.
5. In addition to carrots, fennel and kohlrabi can also add sweetness.