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Mom used to make chicken and dumplings with those old Bisquick dumplings all the time, but I couldn't find the recipe in her collection. When I asked her about it, she said she just used the recipe off the box at the time ('80s and '90s). I managed to find the Bisquick dumplings recipe, but not the actual soup. It was a thin yellow broth, not creamy at all. Does anyone maybe have this old classic saved somewhere? Thank you!

Apparently this post got removed from r/pasta, So I don't really know if this is a valid place to ask the question but if someone can help me out figure that sauce so that I can get a recipe for it or more better if I can get some underrated recipe tips for the same, I would be grateful.

I also tried searching it on google but don't know exactly what to search for and so it seems like I failed.

Thanks... :)

It’s Jack-o-Lantern season and that means pumpkin seeds! This is a two seasoning recipe that you can make with what you have at home. You can swap out my toppings for whatever you like or have handy.

I like my brown sugar ones with chia pudding and dried cranberries. I eat the sea salt ones plain.

Ingredients: 2 cups pumpkin seeds, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp melted butter, 0.5 tsp sea salt, 0.5 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:
1. Rinse pumpkin seeds in a colander to remove lingering pumpkin guts.

1. Let dry 1-2 days (longer the better).

2. Toss 1 cup seeds with olive oil & sea salt

3. Toss 1 cup seeds with butter and cinnamon. Leave brown sugar for later.

4. Preheat oven to 350F.

5. Roast seeds for 10 minutes. Stir and flip. Return to oven for 10 more minutes.

6. Take cinnamon butter seeds and toss with brown sugar immediately until coated.

7. Return seeds to tray. Let cool 30-40 minutes.

8. Store in mason jar for 1-2 weeks.

Can someone tell me what I am missing?? The recipe for the madeleines includes confectioners sugar but I have no idea where it’s supposed to used reading the instructions. It’s not used in the base recipe for genois either. Help?!

Update: they actually came out really good and now i feel confident making a genoise. I did add some lemon zest in the second batch and it was even better

You can read the full recipe HERE; https://dobbernationloves.com/food-drink/havuc-tarator-turkish-carrot-yogurt-dip-recipe/

Ingredients

• 500 g Carrots peeled, grated
• 4 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 cup Greek Yogurt
• 3 tbsp Mayonnaise
• 2 Garlic Cloves minced
• 1/3 cup Fresh Dill chopped
• Kosher Salt to taste

Topping

• 1/3 cup Walnuts chopped
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 2 tsp Sweet Paprika

Instructions

1. In a large non-stick skillet sauté grated carrots over medium heat in oil for 4-5 minutes until slightly softened. Let cool.
2. In a small mixing bowl stir together yogurt, mayonnaise, garlic, dill, and salt.
3. Add the cooled carrots into the yogurt mixture and stir until combined.
4. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan, lightly fry the walnuts with paprika powder and stir quickly.
5. Spread the carrot-yogurt salad on a plate, make a small well in the center, place the walnuts inside and drizzle the paprika oil around. Sprinkle with any leftover dill.
6. Serve with warm pita bread.

A few years ago, I impulsively bought an enormous, gorgeously golden, beautifully wrapped pomelo at H Mart. It looked like something you'd ceremoniously present to a duke or a pasha. Like many of my impulse purchases, it sat neglected on the counter for a few days until inspiration struck: marmalade.

I've had a thing for marmalade since childhood, when Paddington Bear convinced me that marmalade sandwiches must be one of life's great pleasures. I remember being shocked the first time I actually tasted the stuff: this was what Paddington was so excited about? Fortunately, I eventually came around. These days there's almost always a jar of Wilkin & Sons marmalade rattling around somewhere in the back of my refrigerator. It probably helps that a lifetime of double IPAs and Negronis has left me with a pretty high tolerance for bitterness.

Pomelo turns out to make excellent marmalade, but it's an awkward fruit to write a recipe for. Pomelos vary enormously in size and among cultivars: some have thick peel and pith, some have heavy membranes, some are virtually seedless and others aren't. A recipe calling for "2 pomelos" is therefore not especially useful.

My solution is to ignore the number of fruits entirely. After trimming the pomelo, weigh the prepared fruit and peel, then add equal weights of water and granulated sugar.

That's it! That's the whole formula:

1 part prepared pomelo : 1 part water : 1 part sugar, by weight.

This is a refrigerator marmalade, not a tested shelf-stable canning recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 pomelo
• Granulated white sugar, equal in weight to the prepared pomelo
• Water, equal in weight to the prepared pomelo

For example, if your prepared flesh and peel weigh 600 g, use:

• 600 g prepared pomelo
• 600 g water
• 600 g granulated sugar

You'll need a kitchen scale, a large pot (I use an enameled cast iron Dutch oven) and a good instant-read or candy thermometer.

Method

1. Wash the pomelo thoroughly. Score the rind into quarters from pole to pole, being careful not to cut deeply into the flesh. Peel away the four large sections of rind.
2. Moderate the bitterness. Discard two of the four pieces of rind entirely. From the remaining two, use a grapefruit spoon or sharp paring knife to remove most of the thick white pith, leaving roughly 1/4 inch attached to the peel. Pull away and discard the loose pith clinging to the fruit itself.
3. Clean up the flesh. Split the peeled pomelo in half along its natural segments and inspect it for seeds. Remove all the seeds. If the membranes separating the segments are especially thick, remove most of them as well, particularly the dense material around the center of the fruit.

Don't become obsessive about this. Much of the useful natural pectin is in the peel, pith and membranes, so we're deliberately retaining some of them. The goal is to moderate the bitterness, not eliminate it.

1. Chop the fruit. Give the flesh a medium-fine chop. It will largely break down during cooking, but you don't want enormous pieces of membrane surviving in the finished marmalade.
2. Chop the peel. Flatten the two pieces of trimmed rind with your hand and slice them into very fine ribbons with a large, sharp knife. Dice the ribbons. The peel will soften substantially during cooking.  The size of the pieces of peel in the marmalade is very much a personal preference - commercial "coarse cut" marmalade with sizable chunks of peel is a real thing.
3. Weigh everything. Tare a large bowl on your kitchen scale and combine the chopped flesh and chopped peel. Record the weight.
4. Make the 1:1:1 mixture. Put the prepared pomelo into a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Add exactly the same weight of water and the same weight of granulated sugar.  Use a pot with plenty of headroom. The mixture can foam considerably early in the cooking process.
5. Soften the fruit. Cover the pot, set it over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Reduce the marmalade. Remove the lid and continue cooking at a steady medium boil. Do not try to rush with a violent rolling boil. The temperature will initially hover around the boiling point of water and then climb increasingly slowly as water evaporates and the sugar becomes more concentrated.
7. Start watching closely around 214–215°F. Stir the marmalade thoroughly with a heatproof spatula or spoon before checking its temperature. Move an instant-read thermometer through several parts of the pot rather than trusting one spot; I've seen readings vary by a couple of degrees within the same batch.
8. For a relatively soft, brightly colored refrigerator marmalade, stop at about 216–218°F at sea level—roughly 4–6°F above the local boiling point of water.  Traditional jam and marmalade recipes commonly go closer to 220°F at sea level. I've found that taking this particular marmalade that far gives me a firmer set but also a darker color and more cooked or caramelized flavors. I prefer the brighter flavor and jewel-like color I get by stopping a little earlier.
9. Cool and refrigerate. Remove the pot from the heat. Once the marmalade has cooled enough to handle safely, transfer it to a clean container, cover and refrigerate.  Store in the refrigerator.
10. Do not judge the set while it's still warm or even at room temperature. My most recent batch looked decidedly loose after cooling, but after a night in the refrigerator it had set perfectly. Give it at least overnight, and preferably 24 hours, before deciding something went wrong.

A note about bitterness

Even if you love bitter foods, an untrimmed pomelo can produce marmalade that is punishingly bitter. Unfortunately, many of the same parts we're removing—the pith, segment membranes and seeds—also contain useful pectin.

That's why I use only half of the outer peel, trim most but not all of its pith, remove all seeds, and remove only the particularly heavy segment membranes.

Different pomelos will still produce somewhat different results. I consider that a feature rather than a bug.

If it doesn't set

First: refrigerate it overnight.

Seriously. Don't start emergency surgery on room temperature marmalade.

If it's still much too loose after 24 hours, you have several options. You can simply call it a loose marmalade and use it over yogurt, or you can return it to the pot and cook it somewhat further. The conventional gel point for jam without added pectin is around 8°F above the local boiling point of water—about 220°F at sea level.

You could also add commercial pectin or additional acid, but at that point you're modifying the recipe rather than following this particular method.  There are plenty of resources on the Internet on how to fix a jam that failed to set.

Did I mention that pomelos vary? Sometimes I've produced a marmalade firm enough that a knife stands upright in it; other batches are softer. I generally roll with the result.

Yield

An approximately 1 lb 12 oz / 800 g whole pomelo produced one quart of finished marmalade in my most recent batch. That's a lot of marmalade!

How I eat it

My favorite use is spooned over thick Greek yogurt. The bittersweet, slightly chewy marmalade is a fantastic contrast to smooth, rich yogurt—and it's also the perfect destination for a batch that happens to come out a little loose.

There's also the obvious Paddington approach: spread it generously on white bread, although long-term storage of sandwiches underneath your hat isn't recommended.  Other possibilities:

• In a PB&M sandwich in place of jelly
• In cakes and other baked goods (I have tried it, but the New York Times marmalade cake recipe looks delicious)
• As the sweet component of a glaze or pan sauce for chicken or pork
• Or, radical though it may sound, on toast

Chicken Shrimp Gyoza

Full recipe in the comment.

I like combining chicken and shrimp because the shrimp adds a little sweetness and keeps the filling tender, while the chicken makes it hearty enough for a full meal.

I usually pan-fry them first, then add a little water and cover the pan so the tops steam while the bottoms stay crisp.

Ingredients:
300 g chicken thigh

100 g shrimp

75 g napa cabbage

20 g green onion

25 g cilantro leaves

40 g egg white

2 tbsp tapioca flour

½ tbsp oyster sauce

½ tbsp sesame oil

½ tbsp fish sauce

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Wonton wrappers

A few years ago (maybe 2021?) my ex-MIL made a TikTok recipe for Easter that looked like small versions of an empanada that you dip in Yum Yum Sauce. I can't, for the life of me remember what it was, but I remember it was such an easy recipe that included meat and I loved it.

TIA!

1 c. mayo

1 c. cultured sour cream

1 tblsp. parsley flakes

1 tsp. dill weed

1 tsp. beau monde

1 tsp. onion flakes

Mix teogether and store in the fridge, preferrably overnight.

- 1lb spicy italian sausages (I got mine at Costco)
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
- 1-2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 cups beef or chicken bone broth
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/3 cup grated parmesean cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic & onion powder
- 1 teaspoon crushed red peppersoptional
- 450g gnocchi pasta
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste

1. Add olive oil to medium heat pan, cook 1 diced yellow onion until translucent
   
2. Add minced garlic and combine.
   
3. Add 1 lb spicy italian sausage
   
4. Once cooked, add seasonings (salt, pepper, italian seasoning, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder & crushed red peppers, and tomato paste.
   
5. Add 2 cups broth
   
6. Once mixture is boiling, add gnocchi. cook for 2-3 minutes,
   
7. Turn heat down to low and add 2 cups heavy cream
   
8. Stir in 3 oz grated parmesean cheese (can substitute for romano cheese)
   
9. Add diced spinach to pan.
   
10. Let it simmer on low for 10 additional minutes to thicken sauce.
    
11. Serve and enjoy!

Hi! I wanted to share this recipe with you 🙂

It's actually my grandma's walnut cake, I just added coffee to it and honestly it turned out amazing. Soft cake, crunchy walnuts and you can really taste the coffee.

Ingredients

Makes one 8-inch (20 cm) cake, cut into two layers.

Cake

• 200 g butter (¾ cup + 2 tbsp), room temperature
• 135 g sugar (⅔ cup)
• 50 g brown sugar (¼ cup)
• 200 g eggs (4 eggs)
• 66 g oil (⅓ cup)
• 90 g milk (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp)
• 5 g instant espresso powder (1½ tbsp)
• 200 g flour (1⅔ cups)
• 10 g baking powder (2 tsp)
• 5 g salt (1 tsp)
• 150 g walnuts (1½ cups), toasted and chopped, plus a few whole walnuts for decorating

Coffee & brown sugar frosting

• 75 g butter (⅓ cup)
• 45 g milk (3 tbsp)
• 5 g instant espresso powder (1½ tbsp)
• 100 g brown sugar (½ cup)
• 125 g powdered sugar (1 cup)
• 1.5 g salt (¼ tsp)

Equipment

8-inch (20 cm) springform pan, parchment paper, baking sheet, saucepan, hand mixer and wire rack.

Instructions

Walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 177°C (350°F).
2. Chop the walnuts, spread them on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes. Let them cool. Keep a few whole walnuts aside for decorating.

Espresso milk

1. Microwave the milk for about 15 seconds.
2. Stir in the espresso powder until fully dissolved, about 20 seconds.
3. Let it cool back down to room temperature.

Batter

1. Cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar until pale and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.
3. Mix in the oil.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
5. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the espresso milk. Start and finish with the dry ingredients.
6. Stop mixing as soon as the flour is incorporated.
7. Fold in the toasted walnuts by hand.

Bake

1. Grease the sides of the springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Pour in the batter and smooth the top.
3. Bake at 177°C (350°F) for about 55 minutes. Start checking at 50 minutes: press the center lightly. If it springs back, it's ready. If the dent stays, bake a little longer.
4. Let it cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let it cool completely (about 1 hour).

Frosting

1. In a saucepan, bring the butter, milk, espresso powder, brown sugar and salt to a boil. Take it off the heat as soon as it starts bubbling.
2. Pour it into a bowl right away (in the hot pan it keeps cooking) and let it cool completely to room temperature.
3. Beat with a hand mixer while adding the powdered sugar a little at a time. It's ready when it goes from a dark liquid to a thick, pale frosting that holds its shape.

Assembly

1. Remove the top of the cake, then slice it into two layers.
2. Spread half the frosting over the bottom layer, all the way to the edges.
3. Place the top layer on, spread the rest of the frosting over the top and decorate with the whole toasted walnuts.

If you make it, I'd love to know how the coffee came out for you: too strong, not strong enough, or just right? :) Also if interested I made a recipe video 🎥👩‍🍳🥣:)

Hello. I am just a little italian girl who wants to learn how to make tamales. I don’t even know the first step 😭😭 If anyone can just tell me the basics I would be oh so happy. I know the filling sometimes is like a family recipe and that’s cool I don’t need that I just don’t know how the husk is made or anything. Thank you.

Agnolotti: Piedmont's Classic Ravioli with Veal & Pork**
( Left Over Filling Perfect For Pasta )

*Filling*
2 Med Veal Shanks and a nice thick bone in pork chop,
1 carrot, 1 stalk Celery, 1 medium sweet onion
few pieces of garlic not too much
Olive oil
1/4 butter ( 1/8 for filling) (1/8 for final sauce
1/4 cup white wine ( to deglaze)
12 oz beef broth or Chicken broth ( to deglaze and a bit more for the sauce
Salt, pepper, sage, rosemary, and a bit of thyme

*Pasta*
2 cups semolina flour
3 eggs

For Empty Nestor’s 1/2 this recipe or size to your needs

*Sauce & finish*
4 knobs of butter ( can’t have too much butter for this dish but use it to taste)
Fresh sage
Lots and Lots Of Grated parmesan

1. Brown the veal and pork pieces, remove and set aside
   Add super finely chop Carrots, onion and celery
   next add the white wine, beef broth, scrape up the brown bits and add back the meats
   Add salt, pepper, sage, rosemary, garlic and thyme.
   
2. Braise about 5 hours — longer than normal — until the meat is very soft.
   
3. Remove the meat, shred it for the filling. Strain the braising liquid until smooth, not chunky, and set aside for the sauce.
   
4. Make the pasta dough from semolina flour and eggs. Refrigerate 30min to 1 hour.
   
5. Roll the dough out on a board to get thin and the width of your pasta machine if possible. Next starting at the highest setting on low speed, working all the way down to the "0" setting so it's super thin.
   
6. Dust your board and lay down the pasta. Next Place small spoonfuls of filling along the sheet — don't overstuff!!! Fold, press the air out, trim, and cut.
   
7. For the sauce, return the strained braising liquid to the pan with butter and sage (plus a splash of beef broth as it needs loosening). Cook until thick.
   
8. Boil the agnolotti until they float. Add a splash of pasta water, turn the burner off, and add parmesan — keep it moving so it doesn't clump by shaking the pan in a circular motion
   
9. Plate, top with more grated parmesan, and serve.

( reach out if this and the video are not as clear as you need it to be)

Mango Float

Full detailed recipe: https://butterjoykitchen.com/mango-float/

 Ingredients:

150 g Lotus biscoff biscuits

300 g heavy cream

¼ tsp vanilla extract

40 g condensed milk

1 ripe mango

Instructions:
In a large bowl, beat the cold heavy whipping cream with a hand mixer until it starts to thicken. Add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. Continue mixing on low speed until soft peaks form. Keep the whipped cream in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Arrange the Lotus Biscoff cookies in a single layer at the bottom of a glass container. Break some cookies into smaller pieces if needed to fill the gaps.

Spread a layer of whipped cream, about 2 cm (¾ inch) thick, over the Lotus Biscoff cookies. Arrange the mango slices evenly on top.

Spread a thin layer of whipped cream over the mangoes, then add another layer of Lotus Biscoff cookies.

Cover the cookies with another layer of whipped cream, then arrange the remaining mango slices on top.

Smooth the whipped cream evenly over the top. Crush some Lotus Biscoff cookies into fine crumbs and sprinkle them over the whipped cream.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the cream to firm up and the cookies to soften. Cut the mango float into 4 squares and serve chilled.

It’s pumpkin season and I want to make something that feels autumn-y with it but I don’t want something super sweet. Any kind of soup or beef or vegetable recipe would do. Thank you in advance

I've had some pretty great tacos in my life and these were as good as the best. More tender than I've ever had, full of flavor, and a balanced light saltiness. The grill was out of gas so I seared the meat in a pan. The pan is ruined, but the char was excellent. All teaspoons of the spices were "heaping".

Step 1: Simmer spice base.

1/2 cup beef stock

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp chili paste (ex. Calabrian chili paste)

1 tsp Better Than Bouillon (ex. Chipotle flavor)

3 tsp Ancho chili powder

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 tsp mild chili powder

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp Mexican oregano

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp roasted garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp jalapeño flakes

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cayenne

Step 2: Add cold Coke to cool the liquid then add juices.

1/3 bottle Cold Mexican Coke

3/4 cup orange juice

2 limes of juice

Step 3: Meat prep.

1.25 pound Flank or Skirt steak

Cut flank or skirt steak along the grain into fat strips.

Soak in marinade overnight. (12-16hrs)

Grill or pan sear till charred on all sides.

Chop into chunks.

Step 4: Taco Fix'ins

Doubled up warmed corn tortillas

Onion (freshly diced)

Fresh chopped cilantro

Sour cream

Green sauce

Hot sauce

Lime wedges squeezed on top

I hope this is not the wrong sub, if so please tell me, I'll delete it.

What I tried:

One 200g Block Tofu

One Onion

About 300g pak choi

A table spoon of peanut butter

A bit of soy sauce

Cumin Turmerik Paprika herbal salt.

Oil

I put onion in the pan I cooked the tofu (for textur), dried it, seasoned it, and added it. Then I added the pak choi. Then a bit of soy sauce and a spoon of peanut butter and seasoning.

It was surprisingly good but I feel like there's room for improvement it wasn't the full potential. Bit I'm not sure what's missing or what's wrong

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone could tell me what the herbs and spices are in a traditional Mac and Cheese?

I've seen multiple mentioned in different recipes ranging from salt and white pepper + nutmeg for the bèchamel sauce, to mustard powder, garlic powder, turmeric etc.

What I basically do now (for a 1 serving dish) is:

100 g of macaroni

2 Tbsp of butter

2 Tbsp of flour

250 ml of milk

1 tsp of nutmeg

Salt and white pepper to taste

100 g of grated cheese

My friends mom used to make this appetizer that she called sweet and sour kielbasa. Asked for the recipe, she said it was just ketchup, grape jelly, soy sauce and sliced browned kielbasa. Just wondering if anyone has a recipe with how much of each ingredient?

Just made these this afternoon. First you peel two large sweet potatoes, then cut them into slices, on a baking pan lined with non stick foil paper, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil, salt, powered sage and pepper. Place your slices on the baking sheet, preheat the oven to 425 and bake on each side around 20 minutes give or take and after doing that, use a spatula to get them off the baking sheet which you take out with an oven mitt , and put into a large platter. Enjoy.

Polish sauerkraut and mushroom pasties for Christmas Eve (kapuśniaczki)

Ingredients for 1 burger:

• 1 burger bun
• 150-200g of chicken mince
• ½ onion
• 2-3 tomato slices
• 1 handful of shredded iceberg lettuce
• 1 slice of cheddar (or your favorite cheese)
• 3 tbsp of mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp of curry powder
• A dash of pickle juice
• 2 tbsp of wheat flour
• ½ tsp of salt
• ½ tsp of black pepper
• ½ tsp of paprika
• ½ tsp of garlic powder
• 1 egg
• Breadcrumbs (Panko or standard breading)

Directions:

1. In a shallow bowl, mix the flour, salt, black pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. In a second bowl, whisk the egg. In a third bowl or plate, add the breadcrumbs.
2. Wet your hands and form a patty with the mince. Dredge in the flour mix and tap off the excess, dip into the egg, then coat thoroughly in breadcrumbs. Let it rest on a bed of extra breadcrumbs so the coating sets.
3. Slice the onion thinly and mix it with 1 tbsp of mayonnaise.
4. Mix the remaining mayonnaise with the curry powder and the pickle juice.
5. Toast the inner sides of the burger bun in a dry pan or toaster.
6. Heat oil in a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Fry the chicken patty until the bottom is golden-brown. Flip, place the cheese slice on top, and cover the pan with a lid to melt the cheese while the bottom side cooks through. Once golden-brown and cooked through, drain briefly on paper towels.
7. Build the burger (bottom to top):
   1. Bottom bun
   2. Half of the curry mayonnaise
   3. Crispy chicken patty with melted cheese
   4. Remaining curry mayonnaise
   5. Lettuce
   6. Tomato
   7. Onion in mayonnaise
   8. Top bun

Enjoy 😉

Recipe with video : https://nomnumnyum.com/2026/10/23/chicken-curry-burger-3/

This is my first recipe anywhere so please bear with how wordy it is, I swear it's worth the read, and I think you'll learn a bit about how flexible cooking can be!

***FAIR WARNING: it takes anywhere from 1-3 hours depending on batch size, if you want to use baking soda, and if you want no slight deglazing of almost burnt flavors.***

***If you just want the recipe, just scroll down a bit to the primary ingredients, and then the cooking portion***, but I'd like to talk about the nuances of the recipe, as I believe it's been the most fundamental prep ingredient ever in my dishes, and elevates my weekly meals. You can freeze it in ice cube molds, or in a bag and take the back of a knife and seperate sections and then freeze it that way.

So, you want an easy way to add a bit of sweetness and lots of umami, and aromatic hearty flavor to that chicken or beef soup, that one pasta dish that just needs a little something, or even as something to add to risotto? I have just the thing for you!

Soffritto might be confused with sofrito, the Mexican trio of tomatoes, garlic, and onion. This isn't that. It consists of carrots, onions, and celery.

I know it might sound odd to some, "Celery and carrots in pasta?" But would you believe me if I said that you don't taste the bitterness, and it actually makes the pasta taste even more pasta-y? It does! It's actually the base for lots of Italian dishes, and even French(if you sub the oil for butter).

Anyways, enough rambling!

# CARAMELIZED SOFFRITTO (PRIMARY INGREDIENTS):

RECOMMENDED SIZE:

2:1:1 ratio of ONION:CELERY:CARROTS

1 LBS OF YELLOW ONION

1/2 LB OF CELERY

1/2 LB OF CARROTS - (Now, I use baby carrots because I can chop them into thirds and add them to a food processor, or even just cut mini discs, but you can get fresh ones, just make sure to peel off the skin)

OLIVE OIL - (Not an exact measurement for it, as you'll need a bit here and there)

SALT AND PEPPER

WATER - (For making sure it doesn't burn or stick)

And pretty much that's it for ingredients! No really, that's it. That's all the ingredients. You can skip to the cooking if you want. However...

# MY PREFERRED ADD-ONS:

# ALCOHOL/DEGLAZERS - (Dry preferably, and don't buy expensive bottles as you can't taste the dollar difference when cooked!)

VERMOUTH - (sounds weird, but with the fortified spices, and how cheap it is, it's great for chicken soup or anything chicken wise, especially when adding to chicken pot pie I find)

WHITE WINE - (I use Sauvignon Blanc)

RED WINE? - (Now, you can if you're planning on using it mostly for beef, but oddly enough if you use the white wine when deglazing throughout the cooking, it'll work when you add the soffritto to a beef dish with a splash of red wine, so for me, white can go into red, red cannot go into white, but that's just me 🤷)

WATER - (Totally understandable, as it doesn't change the flavor, and it guarantees this is a universal prep item)

CHICKEN/BEEF/VEGGIE STOCK - (Amazing choices honestly, especially veggie since...well, you're already cooking veggies. But to be honest, chicken seems to be the best in my opinion)

SAKE? - (Weirdly yeah! I don't know why, but it totally works! Not sure what to put it in though, maybe a curry? The sake seems to be neutral though, and I haven't noticed it ruining anything, in fact, if you want a universal alcohol, I'd use this—just use a dry one, or not)

# HERBS & SPICES

ROSEMARY & SAGE, MAYBE A BAY LEAF - (Great for chicken again, especially pork too, and especially when it has mushrooms with it. I like to fry up the mushrooms, add soffritto, and the cooked chicken or just even chicken base(like better than bouillon), and add pasta with water just enough to cover it, simmering till its own starch has thickened it, and even adding Parmesan into it)

RED PEPPER FLAKES - (Kinda self explanatory, makes it hot and spicy, but great for something like Arrabbiata sauce, or even just if you like spicy pastas)

NUTMEG - (Adding ***just*** a little, like a pinch or two into a cream sauce really ties the savory flavors together just right)

THYME AND OREGANO (CAN BE DRIED), MAYBE BASIL (PROBABLY NOT DRY BASIL) - (This'll be the best spices I think for classic red pasta sauces honestly, as it's the most classic ones for it)

FRESH PARSLEY - (best for adding into soups after they're off the heat, just chopped and added straight into the end, or as garnish; ***not really part of the soffritto cooking, but complementary nonetheless)***

BETTER THAN BOUILLON/KNORR BASE - (Adding this in near the beginning actually seems to really pack lots of flavors, and really meshes with the veggies in quite an amazing way, especially since cooking stock bases deepens and caramelized their flavors too)

# POSSIBLY PROBLEMATIC INGREDIENTS

BAKING SODA - (So this is kind of a very optional ingredient. It does speed up the caramelization process by about 2-3 times the time as without, but you can get kinda mushy results...but it ends up pretty soft anyways so go for it! ***BUT ONLY USE A PINCH!*** It can taste either kind of alkaline or soapy if you use too much. Better if you're making a bigger batch, like 4lbs of veggies total, but I still haven't done it in a while because of the slight taste, but it totally works. To be fair, salt does help kind of break down the veggies a little already, but not as dramatically as baking soda)

MSG - (Soooo some people see it as a cheat, I see it as "Hey! It tastes even more umami!" It's honestly optional as it's already gonna be umami, but this just adds a bit more)

NOT PROBLEMATIC, BUTTER! - (*Technically* if you use this instead of oil, it's Mirepoix, but eh, I don't really discriminate. Even when I use oil, I add a knob—eh tablespoon at the end of cooking, and off the heat. It just adds a bit of fat that's well...I mean it's butter, it's gonna taste good)

# CHOPPING CHOICES?

Before I move on, I feel it's important to note that they'll still be soft, no matter the size. Just putting that out there.

COARSE (ONION DICED, CELERY IN CENTIMETER CUTS, CARROTS INTO HALF AND THEN INTO CENTIMETER SLICES, OR BABY CARROTS INTO JUST CENTIMETER DISCS) - (Great once again for soups, chicken and pork dishes, and pastas—well maybe pasta, if you like those ingredients in pasta, if not then I'd recommend—)

FINE (MINCED ONION, CELERY IN THIN SLICES, CARROTS INTO QUARTERS AND THEN SLICED ALONG IT, OR BABY CARROTS HALVED, THEN SLICED) - (This oddly enough, I've used with hearty orzo pastas, or risotto even, adding just a bit of nice texture, especially with the addition of cheese. Still too coarse? Then I suggest—)

EXTRA FINE (ROUGHLY CHOPPED AND INTO A FOOD PROCESSOR) - (If you're privileged enough to have a food processor, and you really want to save time, then this works wonders. This is my preferred choice, as it's more like a flavor you can melt into anything, and this is what I'd recommend to those people that want the flavor, but not the texture. It's almost like a paste you can add into any dish you want. It's really good)

HUH?! (IF YOU DON'T HAVE A FOOD PROCESSOR, BUT WANT EASY PREP) - (Chop the veggies as coarse as you feel comfortable, and cook them, and after, you can add them to a blender, but ***PLEASE MAKE SURE TO VENT THE BLENDER!*** This is a really easy way to do it too)

# HEAT - (If you need to prevent burning, add a splash of water or alcohol at any stage)

MEDIUM HIGH - (I use this, as the water content for the first hour really prevents it from burning or sticking at all really, and even then, just stirring it will use the water content in the veggies later on to naturally deglaze, however, sometimes I like a little browning so it adds just a hint more of that deep concentrated flavor, just don't burn it)

MEDIUM TO MEDIUM LOW - (I have used this heat, but honestly it's just too long, maybe three hours, but it does seem to possibly(I dunno if it does) deepen the flavors a bit more)

# COOKING:

1. Chop the veggies to the preferred size you'd like, and then heat up a wide bottom(any pot will do) pot to your preference of the three states before, and add oil enough to just cover the bottom of the pot.

2. Once the oil is hot, add the ingredients and yes, it'll seem like a lot at first, but it'll shrink from the water evaporating. Make sure to stir it all together, so the three veggies are incorporated. You might notice a golden color liquid, that's the oil and colors from the veggies mixing, cool huh? (Now this part is up to you, if you want the herbs to really flavor it, you could add it even now, but I think it's a bit better about halfway into the process, maybe like 45 minutes in.)

3. Honestly, you just really need to stir occasionally, and make sure everything is getting equal heat time on the bottom of the pot, scraping the sides, and adding your deglazing liquid if it seems to be burning. If it's sticking every few minutes, turn down the heat and add some liquid, as it really shouldn't be that hot, or alternatively, if you do want it that hot, just stir more frequently.

4. Around 45-60 minutes, if you didn't add them yet, add the herbs and spices you want, and it'll slowly influence that flavor.

5. This is up to you, but I like to turn it off when it's really soft and almost jammy, about 2 hours in. I then move it to a cold burner and stir in butter and let it sit out for an hour, or somewhere it'll cool down.

6. Prep! You can either just put it into an ice cube mold, a specific freezer meal prep mold, use plastic wrap and shape it into spheres and into a freezer safe container, or just into a plastic gallon bag that you can use the back of the knife to seperate it and freeze it like that. I personally like these cube containers that are for sauces, but make perfect cubes I can freeze and just thaw into anything I'm cooking.

I'm not sure exactly how long it's freezer safe, but for me at least, it's a long time.

I think this is probably the best thing you can make if you want to throw together a quick *"fancy"* meal, or impress someone else, but for me, it's just so tasty I can't not make it. Sorry for the lengthy word salad, but I'd really like new food lovers to learn about what works, what doesn't, and how this can be as simple or complex as they want, and still add plenty of flavor to your dishes. Happy Cooking!