Sofrito Recipes

Throughout my childhood, my grandma would always make the most delicious pot of rice. Whenever she put a pot of rice on, you could hear the rapid bubbling of broth. An aroma of spices would fill the air and the quintessential sound of the iron lid clinking on top of the pot signified that the cauldron would not be disturbed for a good half hour. When the lid was removed a billow of steam would rise through the air and she would stick a fork right into the center. If the fork stood upright - that was how you knew it was done. 

My nana always began her rice with a sofrito. Sofrito is a blend of peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and cilantro into a smooth sauce. Sautee your sofrito before every meal and your flavors will achieve a depth of flavor so rich, everyone will be asking for your recipe. 

Every culture has their own perfect recipe for sofrito. It is the basic preparation for many puerto rican, mediterranean, latin, spanish, italian, and portuguese meals. One of my favorite sofrito recipes is inspired by my best friend who is Haitain. Her family calls sofrito “epis” and it is absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious. 

Sofrito is a simple way to express your creativity in the kitchen. Throw in random veggie stalks, and include your favorite spices. Don't have an ingredient listed below? No worries!  Use your tastebuds to decipher the perfect ratio needed for your dish. Sofrito balances aromatic herbs with fat, salt, and vinegar to create a well-balanced depth of flavor.

Sofrito can be used right away or frozen to be used at a later date. My grandma used to freeze sofrito into ice-cube trays for easy portions. I usually just put it in a Tupperware and pull it the night before to thaw.

How to cook with Sofrito:

1. Sautee a couple tablespoons of sofrito before making any rice, beans, veggies, meats, and soups

2. Use sofrito as a marinade and slather the sauce on veggies or meats before roasting, grilling, or sauteing

3. Depending on the strength of your sofrito it could be used as a salsa, sandwich spread, or sauce. 

Sofrito Recipes

Puerto Rican Sofrito

• 2 medium Spanish onions

• 4 cubanelle peppers

• 1 large red bell pepper

• 4 ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks

• 1 large bunch cilantro

• 1 head of garlic

• 8 mini-sweet peppers

• 1 TBSP Kosher salt

• 1 tsp black pepper

• ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar

• ¼ cup of olive oil

1. Prepare all the peppers by washing, de-stemming, removing the seeds, and the pith. Cut into quarter chunks. 

2. Remove the outer layer from the onions and cut into large quarter chunks. 

3. Wash and pat dry the cilantro. Roughly chop the leaves and stems.

4.  Peel one head of garlic. 

5. Place all ingredients, including the oil, ACV, salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until smooth. Use a little water to thin out if necessary.

6.  You can use the sofrito right away or freeze from later. 

Alternate Recipe: 

1. Prepare as mentioned above.

2. Roast the onions, peppers, garlic, and tomatoes in the oven at 420 for 15-20 min. 

3. Add ingredients to the food processor and blend. This will give the sofrito a sweeter flavor. You can use the sofrito right away or freeze from later. 

Haitian Epis

Special Thanks to Jennifer Edouard of the Haitian American Diaries for this recipe!

• 1 green bell pepper (sliced)

• 1 red bell pepper (sliced)

• 1 bunch of parsley 

• 1 bunch of cilantro

• ½ cup chopped red onions

• 2 teaspoon thyme leaves (fresh or dried)

• ½ cup chopped green onions

• 1 head of garlic 

• 3 whole cloves spice

• 1 veg bouillon cube or use ¼ cup of veggie or bone broth

• 1-2 scotch bonnet peppers 

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

• 2  teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon black pepper powder

1. Prepare all the red and green bell peppers by washing, de-stemming, removing the seeds, and the pith. Cut into quarter chunks. 

2. Prepare the habanero by de-stemming. Keep the seeds if you like your epis extra spicy - if not deseed and remove the pith.

3. Wash and pat dry the cilantro and parsley. Roughly chop the leaves and stems. 

4. Peel the red onions and quarter into chunks

5. Peel the head of garlic

6. Rough chop the green onions. 

7. Place all ingredients, including the oil, broth, ACV, cloves, thyme, salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until smooth. Use a little water to thin out if necessary.

8.  You can use the sofrito right away or freeze from later. 

Special Thanks for Jennifer Edouard of the Haitian American Diaries for this recipe!

Italian Sofrito

• 3 Carrot

• 1 sweet onion

• 3 Celery stalks

• 4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

• 1 glass White wine or cooking sherry (can be substituted for broth)

Instructions

1. Finely chop the onions, carrots, and celery. Cut the vegetables into uniform sizes to ensure even cooking.

2. Use a cast iron or heavy bottomed pot to heat up olive oil on medium heat.  

3. Add the chopped onion and sauté until the onion starts to brown or caramelize.

4. Next, add the carrots and celery. Sauté until they soften and brown.

5. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan and sauté for until the vegetables turn golden.

6. This is an essential sofrito for many soups. You can experiment with using leeks or shallots instead of onions for a sweeter taste. Also as a substitute for wine you can use veggie or bone broth.