This recipe is my version of the Puerto Rican Sofrito.
Sofrito is a mix of vegetables (onions, garlic and peppers), herbs and spices that is lightly fried and used as the base for many different dishes. There are different varieties, depending the country, region or personal preference. This a basic Puerto Rican version.
Ingredients
The ingredients for this Puerto Rican Sofrito recipe include onion, garlic, herbs such as cilantro and culantro. Those last two are not the same. Culantro or Recao, has a stronger aroma. It is not easy to find in the USA. It can be found in some Latin markets. Many say the flavor is similar to cilantro and call it “long leaf cilantro”.
In addition to the the ingredients mentioned above, the Puerto Rican Sofrito includes Sweet Bell Peppers, Cubanelle and Aji Dulce.
Cubanelle peppers have a light sweet and rich flavor and it is frequently uses in Latin American cooking.
Ají dulce or ají cachucha is variety of sweet perennial peppers commonly found in Latin American and Caribbean cooking. It looks like an Habanero Pepper, but it has a sweet fruity flavor with a mild level of heat. If you are unable to find these little gems, you can use either a mix of green, yellow and red sweet peppers or just green peppers.
Finally, to make Sofrito you should add spices. I use love the smoky flavor of cumin seeds and the earthiness of the oregano.
Two ways to make Sofrito
You can use a food processor, or chop the vegetables yourself. If am short on time, I will use the food processor. Otherwise, I tend to use a vegetable chopper because I like to see the little pieces of peppers and onion when I cook.
This is how it will look when using a vegetable chopper.
Steps
Remove the seeds from peppers, remove garlic skins and the outer hard layer of the onion. Chop all the vegetables in big chunks and add all the ingredients to the food processor. Pulse until achieving the desired texture. You want tiny pieces, not a puree. Remember you will later lightly fry your Sofrito.
This recipe will make about 4 cups of Sofrito. Whatever you are not using that day, you can keep in the freezer for later use.
This is how Sofrito looks like when it is made by chopping the vegetables instead of using the food processor.
Sofrito
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 8 Garlic Cloves
- Bunch Culantro Leaves
- Bunch Cilantro (leaves and stems)
- 1 Large Onion
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 2 Cubanelle Peppers
- 20 Sweet chili (aji dulce)
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp oregano
Instructions
- Trim the root off the onion, peel off the outer layer and cut it in quarters.
- Peel garlic cloves.
- Remove seeds of cubanelle and sweet peppers.
- Place all vegetables in the food processor and pulse until chopped, but not pureed,
Notes
- You can use 1 green bell pepper instead of aji dulce.
- Some people add olive oil, tomatoes, achiote and other vegetables to their sofrito.
- You can freeze sofrito in small portions for later use. Some people like using ice trays for this purpose.
All I can say is WOW!!!