“Braised-n-Glazed” Mirepoix Side Dish with Lemon Mushrooms

To download a copy of this recipe for “Braised-n-Glazed” Mirepoix Side Dish with Lemon Mushrooms, click HERE!

Mirepoix (meer-PWAH), the classic French combination of carrots, onions, and celery, is generally used to add great flavor and aroma to soups, sauces, stews, stocks, and other foods. (As a side note, when the French settled in Louisiana, the mirepoix concept they brought with them eventually evolved into the region’s famous “Trinity” – equal parts celery, onions, and peppers – that serves a similar purpose in that local cuisine.)

Such great flavor and aroma, in fact, that it seems a shame to keep it in the background. I believe it’s time to give this time-honored workhorse vegetable combination a more prominent place on your plate as featured - and great tasting - vegetable side dish.

To make mirepoix a side dish we’ll need to modify it a bit. Classic mirepoix is prepared with 1 part-by-weight carrots, 1 part-by-weight celery, and two parts-by-weight onion. In this recipe, those proportions have been adjusted to emphasize the carrots. A bit of garlic was added. The celery and carrots were browned, braised in seasoned vegetable stock, and the braising liquid was then sweetened and cooked down to a glaze. Finally, to add contrast with the sweetness of the glaze, sliced mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and lemon were added. (Note, too, that for the browning and sautéing, I used olive oil in place of the more traditional, but considerably less heart-healthy, butter.)

This recipe makes four side-dish size servings.

First, let’s make the seasoning mix.

Combine the following seasoning mix ingredients and set aside: ½ tsp dried marjoram; ½ tsp dried thyme; ½ tsp dried basil; ½ tsp dried rosemary; ¼ tsp dried sage; and ¼ tsp dried tarragon.

Next, we’ll prepare our vegetables.

Julienne ½ a Vidalia onion.

Mince 6 garlic cloves.

Slice 8 ounces of mushrooms. (Better yet, open an 8 ounce package of sliced fresh mushrooms.)

Peel 1 pound of carrots, and cut on-the-bias into equal size coins.

Slice 4 large celery stalks to equal thickness.

Next, start browning the carrots and cooking the onions:

Heat a small amount of olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. Add the carrots in a single layer and cook undisturbed until lightly browned. Turn the carrots over and cook for a few minutes. When done, the carrots should be cooked only about half-way, not cooked through completely. Season to taste.

While the carrots are browning in the skillet, heat a small amount of olive oil over medium heat in a sauté pan and add the onions. Cook until the onions are soft and browned, adding the garlic for the last few minutes of the cooking. Season to taste. When done, set the onions aside onto paper towels.

Next, we cook the celery and add the carrots:

When the carrots are done cooking, set aside in a bowl, reduce the heat to medium, and put the celery and a small amount of olive oil in the pan. 

When the celery is half-way cooked (similar to the carrots), season to taste, reduce the heat to low, and return the carrots to the skillet and mix with the celery. Add about ½ cup of white wine, the seasoning mix, and enough vegetable stock to cover the carrots and celery about half way. (The amount of stock you’ll need depends on your skillet, but will probably be between 1 and 2 cups.) Cover the skillet and allow to simmer until tender but not mushy.

Now for the mushrooms:

While the carrots and celery are braising, add a small amount of oil and the mushrooms to the sauté pan. Sauté until cooked through, adding the fresh-squeezed juice of ½ lemon. After the mushrooms are at least partially cooked, season to taste. (Adding salt too soon can draw needed moisture from the fresh mushrooms.)

To finish the side dish:

When the carrot and celery mixture is cooked, remove the cover, add ½ tablespoon of sugar, mix to combine, and increase the heat to high.

Stirring frequently to avoid burning, leave the skillet uncovered and let the liquid cook down to a glaze.

Combine the carrots and celery with the mushrooms and the onions. Transfer to a serving dish, and garnish with parsley as in the photo at the top. Serve hot as a side dish.

To download a copy of this recipe for “Braised-n-Glazed” Mirepoix Side Dish with Lemon Mushrooms, click HERE!

Serve this with your next entrée, and you’ve got a vegetable side that’s both delicious and healthy!

Please visit again next week for another tasty, kitchen tested recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)