Sofrito

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sofrito is a Spanish word for a sauce. It can refer to any of the following.

• In Spanish cuisine, it contains garlic, onions, and tomatoes cooked in olive oil and is used as the base for many dishes, similar to the mirepoix in French cuisine and the soffritto of Italian cuisine.
• In Caribbean and Latin American cuisine, it is a sauce of tomatoes, roasted peppers, garlic, onions and herbs.
• In the Sephardic cuisine of the eastern Mediterranean, it is a sauce of water or stock with lemon juice, flavoured with turmeric, garlic and cardamom. It can be used in cooking chicken, veal, calves' brains or fish.
• In Puerto Rico Sofrito is a combination of ingredients used as seasoning to give a distinctive flavor to many dishes. It is mostly used when cooking legumes, rice dishes, sauces, soups and stews. The two main ingredients that give sofrito its characteristic flavor are: recao( also known as culantro) and ají dulce. Ají dulce may be substituted for bell peppers. Sofrito is also traditionally made with salted pork , cured ham , and lard . When pork is used the sofrito is cooked before storing.

The following recipe for Puerto Rican Sofrito has no pork and therefore it is not cooked before storing. This allows for a quicker preparation and also makes it vegetarian friendly.

[edit] Puerto Rican Sofrito

(Yield: 1 quart)

• 3 cups (4 bunches) fresh recao leaves, chopped
• 3 cups (2 bunches) fresh cilantro , chopped
• 1/2 cup of dried oregano
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 cups ají dulce, seeded
  • or :
  • 1 1/2 cup green bell peppers, seeded
  • 1 1/2 cup red bell peppers, seeded

• 1/2 cup (4 oz.) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon salt

Procedure:

1. Grind the ingredients in a mortar or food processor, and store in the refrigerator or poor into ice cube trays to store in the freezer.

• Two or three sofrito cubes can be used in recipes that serve 6 to 8 people that require sofrito.

[edit] External links

• Sofrito Recipe as made in Cuba

[edit] See also

• Base
• Sauce
• Salsa (sauce)