Soffritto comes from the Italian verb infinitive soffriggere, which means to brown or fry slightly.  In Italy, it is very common to begin many recipes with a soffritto, or a lightly fried mixture of herbs and vegetables.

A soffritto can vary in the herbs and vegetables that compose it.  One particular combination that wonderfully flavors many pasta and other dishes is a mix of finely cut carrot, onion, and celery.  In fact, this blend is so prevalent in Italian cuisine that, in Italy, you can walk into the frozen section of nearly any grocery store and you will find a small box of this particular variety already prepared.

It is easy to make your own soffritto, which can even be prepped in advanced, and then frozen in an airtight container.  We hope that these few simple ingredients will help you to create some culinary masterpieces.