Ready to Get Cooking?
Welcome to Fast2eat! If you’re looking for easy-to-prepare, nutritious, delicious, and Fast-2-eat recipes, then you’re in the right place.
My son-in-law, Breno Daibes, made this recipe. As I loved it, I decided to share it with you.
French pinçage (pronounced pin-sahge) is mirepoix (pronounced meer-pwah) with tomato paste added.
This delicious basic tomato sauce recipe is the basis for so many dishes—pizza, pasta, chicken, and fish.
There are differences in cooking methods and ingredients, but all of them are easy to cook. To start you off, check my article: All About Mirepoix, Soffritto, Refogado, and other aromatic bases. They begin recipes and lend them flavour. The list of aromatics is long and varies depending on the dish being cooked.
These recipe starters are an ancient and intuitive part of the cooking process. It may seem like a humble mix, but the flavour it can impart to a dish shouldn’t be underestimated! These unassuming but essential vegetables are literally the foundation, the ground floor, of all the other flavours, elements and ingredients piled atop them during cooking.
In a truly traditional mirepoix, the ratio of ingredients is determined by weight. Home cooks do not need to be so precise. If you do not have a kitchen scale, you can use measuring cups to approximate your ratios: for instance, 2 cups onion, one cup carrots, and one cup celery. However, do not get stuck on specifics. Obviously, there are different variants of “mirepoix,” and all of them have different ingredients and ratios. Use whatever amounts you like.
The vegetables and herbs are lightly fried in oil (or butter, or different fats) for a longer time period to make the flavorful base. It is cooked at low heat without browning or colouring the vegetable. The whole point of mirepoix is sweetening the ingredients rather than caramelizing them.
Mirepoix has a hearty and sweet flavour.
Pinçage is made by adding tomato puree, which results in dark reddish brown colour.
Did You Make This Recipe?
I love seeing your take on my recipe!
Comment below with your experience, snap a pic, use #fast2eat and tag us on
Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Youtube.
Thank you so much for reading, commenting, following and sharing.
Ingredients
Mirepoix aromatic base
- 2 tbsp Olive oil - and or butter
- 2 stalks Celery - chopped
- 1 Carrot - large
- 2 Onion - large - finely chopped
- 1 head Garlic - peeled and minced
For tomato sauce
- 2 Tomato - chopped
- 2 cans Peeled tomatoes - blend in a blender and strain to remove seeds – or tomato paste
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 branch Thyme
- 1/2 cup Wine - optional - full-bodied red wine - cabernet sauvignon preferred
- Oregano - dried to taste
- Basil - a handful of fresh basil, finely chopped or 1 tsp dried basil
- Savoury - optional to taste
- Dash Red pepper flakes - optional - crushed
- Black pepper - optional to taste
- Salt - to taste
Garnish (optional)
- Parmesan cheese - Shaved
- Black olives
- Basil - fresh
Instacart is available in the US only at the moment.
Instructions
Prepare your vegetables
- Trim the root ends and tips from the vegetables.
- Rinse and scrub the celery.
- Rinse and peel your carrots and onions.
- Then dry well with a clean cloth.
- Chop the carrot, onion, and celery. In general, the finer you chop the veggies, the quicker the aroma and flavours will be released.
Cook your vegetables
- Heat olive oil to medium in a large pan or Dutch oven.
- Add onions, carrots and celery to the pan. Reduce heat to low or medium-low heat and Sauteé for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, adjusting heat to keep them from browning until soft and translucent.
- Add minced garlic and continue to cook until fragrant.
Prepare the Marinara
- Blend peeled tomatoes in a blender and strain to remove seeds.
- Add tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and herbs (fresh and dried).
- Stir in wine, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Bring to simmer; once it starts bubbling, reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered until thickened, about 15 minutes to give the flavours a chance to marry.
- If the sauce gets too thick for your liking, you can add more tomato sauce, red wine, or stock to thin it out.
- Remove the bay leaf and serve.
Optional, purée for a smooth sauce
- If you want, you can push the sauce through a food mill, or purée it in a blender or with an immersion blender, to give it a smooth consistency.
Garnishing options
- Shaved Parmesan, whole black olives, and/or a sprig of fresh basil.
Video
Notes
- Arrabbiata sauce – Add 1 tsp chopped red chilli peppers when adding the garlic and herbs.
- Bolognese sauce – Add 1 lb of ground beef, pork, sausage, or a beef/pork mixture (be sure to drain off some of the extra fat before adding the garlic and herbs).
- Add clams and other seafood when adding the tomatoes.
- For some added texture – Add chopped mushrooms and/or zucchini when adding the garlic and herbs.
- To make a more distinctly flavoured sauce – Add another 1 tbsp fresh chopped basil or oregano a few minutes before serving.
- Add 1/4 cup cream during the last hour of cooking.
- Stir in 2 tbsp grated parmesan during the last five minutes of cooking.
- Gently blend the sauce with an immersion blender near the end of cooking to make a chunk-free sauce. It goes great on pizza.
Equipments - Click to Buy Now
Disclosure: “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Purchases made by using these links don’t cost any extra and provides Fast2eat with a few pennies to keep the lights on.”
How do you get a quick and nutritious meal on the table at the end of a busy day?
I love creating fast and healthy meals that can make a huge difference.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.
Check out what I’ve been busy cooking!
Latest Recipes
Want More? Check Out My Cookbooks!
Did you know you could make more than bread in the bread machine? My cookbooks will walk you through how you can make pizza dough, pasta, cake, and of course, bread in a bread machine. With over 130 recipes, there is something for everyone!
Don’t have a bread machine? No problem! The book contains a guide to convert all bread machine recipes to manual recipes. The guide also allows you to convert manual recipes you may already have to bread machine recipes.
Check out “Bread Machine Foolproof Recipes” and “Bread Machine Tips and Tricks” on Amazon!
Disclosure: “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”
Hungry for more? Follow us on Social Media!
We post new recipes every Friday! Stay up to date by following us on
Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Youtube
All Your Favourite Recipes in One Place!
Become a member of Fast2eat and get these benefits:
- Save, upload, and track all of your favourite recipes.
- Plan your meal for the week with the Fast2eat Meal Calendar.
- Create a full course menu for special events.
- Personalize and create as many recipe collections as you want.
- Generate shopping lists.
Join us for free by following us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Youtube!
Got a question or feedback? Please comment below! That way, other readers will be able to see the answers to your question and will benefit from your feedback.
Get in Touch!
I look forward to hearing from you in the comments.
