So you ask what is sofrito … sofrito is a sweet-smelling blend of herbs and spices used throughout the Caribbean, especially in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and more islands. It’s how we season numerous dishes like soups, stews, beans, meat, fish, chicken, etc, etc, etc. In most cases, it is the foundation of many Latin recipes, thus I came up with my starter.
So what’s in sofrito? Basically you can have many ingredients or just a few of them. The ingredients can be some of the following: onions, red pepper, green pepper, tomatoes, garlic, some times cilantro and/or parsley leaves. You don’t always have to use all the ingredients; it really depends on what you’ll be making. But suffice to say the basics are onion, garlic, pepper and that’s what’s in my starter.
I came up with the idea years ago to cut down on prep time. I sautéed onions in virgin olive oil, add in chopped hot peppers and finish with pressed garlic. Some times I’ll throw in a few half peppers to use for other dishes later. And many times I’ll leave the garlic out to use fresh when I’m making a full blown sofrito the day it’s needed Once the concoction has cooled down I place it into a re-sealable container and keep in the fridge to use throughout the week. With this starter I can make many dishes or just use as is to spicy things up a bit.
Examples:
If you want to check out my glog click here.
So what’s in sofrito? Basically you can have many ingredients or just a few of them. The ingredients can be some of the following: onions, red pepper, green pepper, tomatoes, garlic, some times cilantro and/or parsley leaves. You don’t always have to use all the ingredients; it really depends on what you’ll be making. But suffice to say the basics are onion, garlic, pepper and that’s what’s in my starter.
I came up with the idea years ago to cut down on prep time. I sautéed onions in virgin olive oil, add in chopped hot peppers and finish with pressed garlic. Some times I’ll throw in a few half peppers to use for other dishes later. And many times I’ll leave the garlic out to use fresh when I’m making a full blown sofrito the day it’s needed Once the concoction has cooled down I place it into a re-sealable container and keep in the fridge to use throughout the week. With this starter I can make many dishes or just use as is to spicy things up a bit.
Examples:
- Use to start a full blown sofrito for many dishes
- Starter for paella, arroz con pollo, etc.
- As is to throw on pizza or in a hot sandwich
- Smother over chicken, steak or fish the last few minutes on the grill
- On hamburger before you throw the cheese on to melt
- Spoon full or two into a soup
- Add into chili or in starting chili
- There's many other uses, can't think of them all now but hope you get the idea ...
If you want to check out my glog click here.
One of the points I may have done a poor job bring across is that this doesn't need to be used for traditional sofrito, I use this on so many things and seriously it taste great! The second thing is controlling the heat level; one need not make the sofrito or start cooking with all this “starter” mix. Many times I cook for the kids when I’ll just use a spoonful or two and the rest is none hot veggies. I also put this in wraps and so many sandwiches I can’t recall all of them. The thing I like best is that it’s ready to go (time saver) and I fill my container weekly as it’s all gone in a few days 
