Soffritto - Sublime, Simple Freezer Stash

During this difficult Covid19 time, wherever we are on this planet, we are encouraged to wash hands, stay home and minimise the spread of this awful disease.  Listen to the Medicos. Stay home.  Stay safe. 
One of our pleasures when staying home is cooking.  We are using this time to prepare for winter meals - soups, stews and curries etc.  
An easy way to have a handy supply of starting ingredients for these basic meals is to prepare and freeze some soffritto -  which is essentially onion, carrot, celery and optional herbs softly fried.  
So many recipes from differing cuisines start with these 3 ingredients.  I tend to chop mine quite finely whilst Mamma Marmalade uses diced pieces in her soffritto.  I make some just with the key vegetables, another stash with added herbs, some are a onion garlic mix whilst the final stash is onions only.   
You can freeze your stash in freezer safe containers or freezer bags - I portion them in a bag then pop these into a named reuseable freezer zipbag.  In readiness for times when I only need a tablespoon or two - I flatten the soffritto into a freezer bag and use a chopstick or similar to create divisions that are easy to break off as needed.  However you decide to create your Soffritto Stash,  it is so satisfying to have some veggie goodness in the freezer ready to transform into nourishing hearty meals later on.    Enjoy!   Colleen 
PS the 2 books were borrowed before our Library closed due to virus restrictions.  Miss my library.  

Soffritto by Feed Your Inner Cook

Library books borrowed. Feed Your Inner Cook

Soffritto by Feed Your Inner Cook

Soffritto by Feed Your Inner Cook

Soffritto by Feed Your Inner Cook

Preparation and cooking - approx 20 minutes

Ingredients   - volume will depend on how much you want to cook.  Adjust as needed.

IF you finely dice one veg, then you need to finely dice all to the same size.   Keeping the same size helps with cooking, the eating experience and final meal presentation

RATIO - think of a plate divided into three with even amounts of each vegetable 

3 - 4 onions - diced  OR  very finely diced 
2 - 3 carrots, peeled.  Diced  OR very finely diced   
4 sticks of celery.  Diced  OR very finely diced.

Olive oil 

You can also add crushed garlic  and  leeks if desired.   TIP:  Mamma Marmalade tells me  cooked then frozen garlic loses it's potency so she prefers to add later when soffritto used.  

OPTIONS
You can saute your soffritto with a handful of herbs if you are planning on making a meal later with Italian flavours.  A little rosemary, thyme, parsley.,  OR a few sage leaves  or add some bay leaves during the cooking.  What you prefer.

I make some stash with the key vegetables, another stash with added herbs, another is an onion garlic mix whilst final stash is onions only.  

METHOD
Gently heat the olive oil in a wide frypan.
Saute the onions and carrots then add the celery. 
Add the bay leaves   and/ or  chopped herbs if using. Stir in the garlic if using.
Continue to stir until vegetables have softened and started to turn golden.
TIP:  Never let the soffritto burn.  It will taste bitter and ruin your dish later.

Remove from heat.  Allow to cool and place into freezer safe containers or freezer bags.  OR flatten soffritto into freezer bag, use chopstick or similar to create small portions. 
Freeze.    Thaw as required and use as the base for soup, stews etc.   Enjoy!  Colleen