Sofrito Is About To Change Your Life
Mr. Rob Drapeau
Before we go any further, take out your calendar and a permanent marker.
Seriously, do it now. I’ll wait for you.
Got them? Good. Circle today’s date — you are going to want to remember it. Today is a very special day for you and the fortunate people who feed at your table. Today is the day you leveled up as a cook. Today is the day you learned about sofrito.
Sofrito is the magical mixture of aromatic herbs and vegetables that we Puerto Ricans use as the base for most of our cooking. It will add freshness and flavor to your food and fill your home with the fragrant aroma of an island paradise. It is easy to make from inexpensive ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry and refrigerator (or garden). Despite its affordability and simplicity, it will add a richness and complexity to your food that will make your family wonder if you’ve been taking cooking lessons on the sly. It may sound crazy, but after you’ve made it, you’ll understand why I’m tempted to claim it can raise the dead. (It can’t.) Nevertheless, it has been known to rouse layabout teenagers from their Lazarus-like lethargy and lure long-lost loved ones back to your kitchen.
This recipe is the very basic version of sofrito that I make from ingredients you can find in any grocery store. If you lived on the island, you would definitely include culantro and ají dulce in your sofrito. If you’re wondering, culantro is to cilantro what a Clydesdale is to a racehorse, and Ají dulce — a mild, sweet chili pepper native to Puerto Rico related to habanero peppers —is a house cat compared to habanero’s Bengal tiger. You can usually find both of these at your local Asian or Latin market, if you’re fortunate enough to have one nearby.
— Rob
What You Need
• ½ cup of olive oil
• 2 bell peppers, cored and cut into big chunks
• 1 bunch of cilantro, stems and all, rinsed.
• 2 yellow onions, peeled and cut into eight or so pieces
• 16-20 cloves of garlic or more if you love yourself
• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon of white or apple cider vinegar
• 6-8 ají dulce (optional)
• 4-5 culantro leaves (optional)
What You Do
1. Pour the olive oil into a blender or large food processor.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients all at once or a little at a time. The order doesn’t really matter, as long as you don’t start with the cilantro; it doesn’t always get drawn into the blades, which is annoying. I recommend adding the ingredients in the order listed so that the oil and peppers will draw the cilantro into the blades while the heavier onions force it down.
3. Blend until pureed.
Notes:
This recipe makes a lot (about four cups), but sofrito freezes beautifully and tends to get used up quickly anyway.
Most recipes that call for sofrito use about ½ cup for every 6-8 servings. Depending on how soon you intend to use it, you can store the sofrito in a large Mason jar or recycled spaghetti sauce jar in your refrigerator for about a week, or you can freeze it in ½ cup portions for future use. Growing up, we would freeze sofrito in plastic ice cube trays and then transfer the cubes into a large freezer bag. Whenever we needed sofrito, we would throw 3-4 cubes into the pot straight from the freezer.
The food of Puerto Rico, like its people, is very accommodating. If you don’t have yellow onions, use red ones or white ones. The same goes for the bell peppers — any color will do. And if you’re missing an ingredient or two, no te preocupes. Don’t worry about it. I promise, you will be making sofrito for the rest of your life.
Some people will sauté the sofrito before freezing it, and others will insist that tomatoes are essential and include them in their recipes. I don’t do either. I just make sauteing the sofrito in tomato sauce my first step when I’m cooking.
Sofrito makes your soups, stews, and sauces sing. You will be amazed at how versatile it is.
For your first go round, I recommend making Arroz Blanco con Habichuelas Guisadas.
