#puerto rican recipe

[gourmetgoober]

Sofrito. A Love Story.

Hey Gooberland! I hope everyone is doing well. These last few weeks have been a challenge. Big Daddy and I faced some unexpected repairs to our furnace. Just in time for the coldest days of the winter. Hooray! Plus, I’ve been battling the world’s worst case of the flu. 

I know. Good stuff, right?

I’m finally feeling much better. Just in time to finish some writing projects and possibly pick up a new client. But I wanted to share something that I’ve been obsessing over.

That’s right. I’m in love with Sofrito.

If you are not familiar-sofrito is a cooking base that is totally versatile. It can do everything from beans (it makes a wicked White Bean Ragout) to a marinade for chicken and steak. It’s even fabulous with eggs. I am seriously enamoured with the stuff. 

I was first introduced to sofrito a few weeks ago from a friend at the grocery store. I was going to make a cassoulet for dinner but was dismayed that I couldn’t get fresh celery. He saw how disappointed I was and handed me a bowl of fresh made sofrito. 

"Mamma," he said with a smile. "Add these to your beans. I promise it will change your life." 

Two hours later, my husband is licking the plate and I’m running back to the Miller K to get some more info. He explained that it was Puerto Rican Sofrito. Apparently there are different types (tomato based vs culantro based) but they all work the same way. 

You can buy it in the store. Apparently Goya makes a popular version of both types. But in the end. I decided to make my own because the bottled kind had a lot of sugar and salt. If you want to do it yourself, here’s what you use.

Basic Recaito (Puerto Rican Sofrito)

4 cubanelle peppers(preferred)* with stem and seeds removed

1/2 lb sweet peppers, with the stem and seeds removed

1 bunch culantro (highly preferred)** (include the stems)

1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped into chunks

10 large garlic cloves, peeled 

* If you can not find any cubanelle peppers, substitute 1 large green pepper.

**Culantro is similar to cilantro  in flavor. You can typically find it in international supermarkets, but don't fret if you can't track it down. My friend told me that you can substitute cilantro for it instead. Simply substitute roughly 1-1/2 to 2 bunches of cilantro for 1 bunch of culantro.

Place all of the ingredients in the food processor 

Blend well and store in a container in the fridge for up to four days.

It also freezes beautifully! Store in ice cubes until you are ready to use it. 

By the way, if you want to make the awesome chicken recipe featured above, The Noshery has a great one that I love. You can check it out here. Happy cooking everyone!