r/Thrifty • u/Traditional_Fan_2655 • Mar 23 '26

🥦 Food & Groceries 🥦 Versatile Veggies

What veggie do you find to be the most versatile? How do you use it?

In a critical mindset of don't waste food, someone always considers a use that others later think, oh yeah - that's a good one! So what is your most versatile veggie and how do you make it so?

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u/47Boomer47 Mar 23 '26

Onion, celery, and carrots are cheap and the start of any number of soups.

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u/Traditional_Fan_2655 Mar 23 '26

I'm scratching my thoughts, but I can only think of chicken soup and ham with beans soup. Could you give any other suggestions?

I'd love other ideas for the combination.

Also, if you do anything special to any of them first, please note! For example, my cream of broccoli soup has carmelized onions first.

2

u/SunBelly Mar 24 '26

The French call this combination of vegetables mire poix and it is the start of many western European dishes. Bolognese sauce, beef stew, chicken soup, vegetable soup, lentil soup, pot roast, coq au vin, risotto, cassoulet, shepherd’s pie, turkey stuffing, gravy, chicken pot pie, osso buco, minestrone soup, vegetable ragout, white bean soup, turkey soup, beef barley soup, cabbage soup, pork stew...

A similar trio of vegetables - onion, celery, and bell pepper - are used in almost all Cajun and Creole cuisine. They call it trinity. Gumbo, jambalaya, étouffée (shrimp or crawfish), red beans and rice, dirty rice, shrimp Creole, crawfish pie, shrimp and grits (Louisiana style), maque choux, courtbouillon (fish stew), sauce piquante...

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u/Traditional_Fan_2655 Mar 24 '26

Wow! Thank you for the additional ideas. Any recipes are welcome!