Sofrito is a flavor foundation in Mediterranean, Latin American, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese cooking. It typically consists of aromatic ingredients cut into small pieces and sautéed in oil. Use sofrito as a base to add flavor to meals (like in Market Chef Nettie Colón’s Farmer’s Market Galinhada) or on its own as a delicious sauce.
This recipe is generously shared from Nettie’s abuela (grandmother), and is written in weight as it was the only way they could figure out her measurements.
Mill City Sofrito
By Nettie Colón
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs. bell peppers or any other sweet pepper, chopped
- 6 oz. yellow onions, chopped
- 3 oz. fresh garlic cloves, chopped
- 5 oz. chopped cilantro or parsley or a mix of both (traditionally is culantro and that is what I use)
- 1½ oz. sea salt*
*the salt content in this recipe helps to keep and cure the sofrito so when adding as a base to your food, there’s usually no need to season as much if any. Always taste your food before seasoning.
Instructions
Place the first 3 ingredients into a food processor and pulse to chop into pea size. Mix in it the cilantro and/or parsley and the salt. Pulse until it all comes together. Remove from the food processor into a bowl. Mix well and store into a glass Mason jar. This recipe will make quite a bit so feel free to freeze some for later use.
Note on use: Saute this prepared sofrito in oil and go from there with the rest of your ingredients. No need to add salt to the dish unless it really needs it. Sofrito is our secret to delicious stews, beans, rice, soups, and whatever else. There are so many versions of this Caribbean sofrito and this one is from my grandmother.
