Sofrito (con carne)

Sofrito is the base to a lot of the Chilean dishes, is the combination of a few vegetables with sauteed in oil with some seasoning. I make this sofrito and add ground beef and some diced tomatoes and is (almost) the best spaghetti sauce. Or chop zucchini and mix is all in a bowl and put it in the oven, also you can do stuffed peppers!

Here is my recipe that I learned from my dad who learned from my Grandpa Raul. The best thing about this is that you can not fail...  never is too much of one thing  or the other (besides salt)

1.  3 celery sticks
2. 1 large carrot
3. 3 shallots
4. 2 garlic cloves
5. 1/2  white onion
6. 1/2 red pepper
7. 1/2 green pepper
8. 2 bay leaves
9. 2 cups of ground beef
10. 1/4 teaspoon of paprika  
11. 2 tbsp olive oil
12. S&P

** I cheat and put 1/4 of taco seasoning with low sodium.

Fist chop all the veggies in really tiny cubes and leave aside while you warm up a pan with  olive oil and the tiny chopped garlic. Next add the onion, and shred directly the carrot to the pan. As soon as you finish with the carrot, add the celery and peppers.  Is is important to start with the items that take longer to cook first, so when you add the ground beef the veggies are not over cooked or saggy. I add the ground beef last because I like to use the steam of the vegetables to help cook the beef.
Add seasonings; paprika, taco seasoning is optional, salt & pepper and now you can add the bay leaves. Bay leaves help the meat to enhance the taste. That's what dad always told me and a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. But I only do it when I am making spaghetti sauce.