Everyday Sofrito
Sofrito is a workhorse that can do everything. This verdant and spicy base is a foundation for innumerable sauces, soups, sauté, braises, paellas, and Latin dishes of all kinds. Cook it with rice as flavorful bed for the main entree. Serve raw on its own for a kick ass salsa. Sofrito holds up. I use sofrito to make a potent rice as the centerpiece, add a dollop to a frying pan to start a hearty protein sauté, and add as a finishing sauce on fajitas or grilled asparagus.
Music accompaniment
“Cucala”
by Celia Cruz with Johnny Pacheco
Ingredients
- 1 large Spanish onion
- 1 small head of garlic
- ½ cup ração (culantro)
- ½ cup cilantro stems
- 9 fresh chile peppers (4 Ají dulce, 1 cubanella, 1 poblano, 1 banana, 1 serrano, 1 Jalapeno or fresno)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup green olive juice (be sure brine is vegan)
- Fresh oregano
- Salt & pepper
Make
- Remove pepper stems (partially de-seed based on your heat preference)
- Add all ingredients into food processor; chop roughly
- Add tablespoons of vegetable stock, olive juice, or water as needed for consistency (a salsa not a paste)
Use & Serve
- Add as the starter to soups, sautés, and sauces
- Braise hearty vegetables and tofu/tempeh in sofrito and vegetable stock or white wine
- Top with tomato and cilantro for a raw salsa
Sofrito Rice
- Lightly sauté ½ cup of sofrito
- Add 15-20 green olives
- Salt to taste
- Add 1 cup of rice and sauté for 1 minute
- Add water (about 1 ¾ cups; water level above rice should reach your thumb knuckle)
- Boil until water reaches top of rice
- Turn off heat and cover for 20 minutes
- Fluff and serve with tomato and cilantro