Soffritto and Tuscan Soup.

We have potatoes, carrots, onions, courgettes and celery in the home.  So, googling those ingredients together with "soup" took me straight to a Tuscan Soup Recipe on the BBC Good Food page.  I thought:  maybe there's something new I can learn - and sure enough there was!

Soffritto!  What is that?  Well here's an explanation and now to the kitchen to start the slow-fry of the....Soffritto for....the Tuscan Soup, which all sounds pretty easy!


Soffritto comes from the Italian verb soffriggere, which means to brown or fry slightly.  Many Italian recipes begin with a soffritto, a lightly fried mixture of herbs and vegetables.

The components of a soffritto can vary.  A favorite combination of mine is finely diced onion, carrot and celery, slowly sauteed in olive oil.  Others may include garlic, bell pepper, and many variations of aromatics such as rosemary and thyme.  Soffritto is the base for many delicious pasta sauces, risotto dishes and stews.  In Italy, soffritto is so commonly used, it can often be found in grocery stores.  

Creating a flavorful soffritto requires fresh ingredients.  Nor can you rush the cooking time.  You want to cook the veges slowly over a medium heat, about 10-15 minutes.  You will know it's done when the house begins to fill with wonderful aromas.

The idea of using a fragrant soffritto as a base for adding flavor to dishes is not unique to Italy.  In France, it's called mirepoix, and in Spain it'ssofrito.  

So, the next time you're in the kitchen frying up a pan full of finely diced veges, show off your cooking prowess by announcing "the soffritto is almost done!" Like me, your family and friends are sure to scratch their heads!

Ingredients

For the soffritto

• 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 4 bay leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the soup

• 200g/7oz carrots, chopped
• 200g/7oz celery, chopped
• 200g/7oz potatoes, chopped
• 200g/7oz courgettes, chopped
• small piece of rind from a ham (optional)
• 1.5 litres/2¼ pints stock (vegetable or chicken stock are both fine)
• 2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped, with the juice and seedssqueezed out
  
  
  
  

  Preparation method

  1. For the soffritto, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the celery, carrot, onion, garlic, rosemary and bay leaves until golden, about 15 minutes.
  2. Remove the rosemary sprig and bay leaves and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  3. To make the soup, add the carrots, celery, potatoes and courgettes and cook on a low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring continuously but gently. Add the ham rind at this stage if you are including it (remember to remove it before serving the soup). Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
  4. Add the stock and cook over a low heat for another 20-30 minutes. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Serve.