soffritto

American  

[soh-free-toh, sawf-freet-taw] / soʊˈfri toʊ, sɔfˈfrit tɔ /

noun

1. Also called battuto.  Italian Cooking. a base for stews and soups, consisting of hot oil, butter, or fat in which a chopped onion or crushed garlic clove has been browned, often with the addition of chopped parsley, celery, and carrot.

2. (in Spanish, Latin American, and Caribbean cooking) sofrito.

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Etymology

Origin of soffritto

First recorded in 1910–15; from Italian, past participle of soffriggere; suf-, fry ¹

Example Sentences

Aromatics are where things begin: ginger, garlic, onions and their cousins; the soft clatter of mirepoix or soffritto; a bloom of spices warming in fat.

From Salon • Feb. 8, 2026

Mirepoix that you’ve cooked down into a jammy little soffritto.

From Salon • Jul. 15, 2025

The Italian methodology always sounds beautiful and is an excellent roadmap: soffritto, tostare, sfumatura, brodo/cottura and mantecura.

From Salon • Jul. 2, 2023

She then cooks the soffritto for a long time—almost 40 minutes to build flavor and have the texture of the vegetables almost disappear in the dish—and I decided I'd give congrí another try.

From Salon • Mar. 5, 2022

There’s an ample pantry section, with the mostardas, soffritto and sauces that are fundamental to the dishes, plus recipes for the ’nduja and salumi for the ambitious.

From Los Angeles Times