There is no other recipe I could have chosen to open any chapter,
let alone my book. This is the one indispensable, universal, un-live-withoutable
recipe. Having said that, it is incredibly easy to make with ingredients
you can find at the supermarket. And if you can’t find all
the ingredients I list below see the note that follows for a very
simple fix. What sofrito does is add freshness, herbal notes and
zing to dishes—you can do that with the onion, garlic, bell
pepper, cilantro and tomato alone.
In my house, sofrito makes its way into everything from yellow rice,
black bean soup, sauce for spaghetti and meatballs to braised chicken
and sautéed shrimp. Not only that, it freezes beautifully,
so in about In 10 minutes you can make enough sofrito to flavor
a dozen dishes. I’m telling you, this stuff does everything
but make the beds. Try out your first batch of sofrtio in the recipes
you’ll find throughout this book, or add sofrito to some of
your own favorite dishes that could use a little boost. You will
change the way you cook. I guarantee it.
2 medium Spanish onions, cut into large chunks
3 to 4 Italian frying peppers or cubanelle peppers
16 to 20 cloves garlic, peeled
1 large bunch cilantro, washed
7 to 10 ajices dulces (see note below), optional
4 leaves of culantro (see note below), or another handful cilantro
3 to 4 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks
1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into large chunks
Makes about 4 cups
Chop the onion and cubanelle or Italian peppers in the work bowl
of a food processor until coarsely chopped. With the motor running,
add the remaining ingredients one at a time and process until smooth.
The sofrito will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It also
freezes beautifully.
If you can’t find ajices dulces or culantro, don’t
sweat. Up the amount of cilantro to 1 ½ bunches
