Mirepoix, matignon et bouquet garni

France, classical kitchen

Origin

Mirepoix, matignon and bouquet garni belong to the classical French kitchen and serve as working foundations of the fonds, the braises and the sauces. The mirepoix is distinguished from the matignon by its cut and its purpose. The bouquet garni is the common herb bundle of the French stockpot and braising pan, prepared as part of the daily mise en place of the brigade kitchen.

Description

The mirepoix is a mixture of carrot (Daucus carota) and onion (Allium cepa), diced, to which celery and lean raw or cured ham may be added, cooked in butter with thyme and bay leaf to flavour a sauce, a braise or a joint. The matignon is a related preparation of the same vegetables cut finer and cooked gently in butter, often with ham, used to season and to lay beneath or around braised meats and poultry. The bouquet garni is a bundle of parsley stalks, thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and bay leaf (Laurus nobilis), tied with string around a piece of leek or celery so that it may be lifted out whole at the end of cooking.

III

The Thread

—Like the mirepoix, the soffritto is a base of onion, carrot and celery cooked in fat to give depth to a sauce, ragù or soup. It is cut very fine and cooked in olive oil, often until it melts into the dish, whereas the mirepoix is cut larger and is frequently removed or strained. Italian

—The sofrito also builds a savoury foundation by cooking aromatic vegetables slowly in fat before the main ingredients are added. Its basis is onion, garlic and tomato in olive oil, which gives a sweeter and more acidic base than the carrot and onion of the mirepoix. Spanish

—Suppengrün is a bundle of leek, carrot and celeriac sold for the stockpot, sharing the principle of aromatic roots simmered to flavour a broth. It is added raw and usually left whole or in large pieces, where the mirepoix is first diced and often coloured in fat. German

Flavour Context

These preparations are not eaten alone but lie beneath brown stocks, braised beef, veal, game and poultry, and beneath sauces such as the sauce espagnole. They are served with the full red wines that accompany such dishes, and a dry white suits the lighter fonds. The structural reason is that the sweetness of carrot and onion and the bitterness of the herbs round the savour of the meat and balance the acidity and tannin of the wine used in the cooking.

V · Quality Hierarchy

Firm, freshly lifted carrots and onions of even size, with celery and a good lean… Sound seasonal vegetables are cut with care and cooked in butter without burning. The bouquet…

VI · Sensory Tests

smell: As the vegetables cook in butter, the smell turns from raw and sharp to sweet and rounded. Thyme and…

VII · Where the dish lives or dies

The pivot is the heat under the fat: the vegetables must soften and take colour gently in butter without ever burning, since scorched onion or…

Pillars V — VII

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