Soffritto

Soffritto is the Italian term for the vegetables (typically celery, carrot and onion--sometimes described as the kitchen's Holy Trinity) which serve as the flavor base for a wide number of dishes, such as stocks, soups, stews and sauces.  Before these vegetables are sautéed (I prefer extra virgin olive oil but many favor butter or a mix of butter and oil), they have to be chopped. 

I'm sure it's an obsessive compulsive tic, but I love to chop vegetables.  This is a good thing, because yesterday I prepared the soffritto for restaurant-size portions of ragu and sauce for osso buco.  I was weirdly content with hours of chopping, but today my right arm feels ridiculously sore.  I see Advil in my future.

The workday ended with an awesome Margherita pizza (very thin crust made from a dough of white and semolina flour) and a glass of Primativo, compliments of Guido's Restaurant.  Today, sauce preparations with my lovingly chopped soffritto.