Remember how we have said the freezer is the new pantry?
My wonderful and beautiful friend Veronica let me in on a little secret. I don’t know how I didn’t know about this, or why this is not already an American refrigerator staple. Sofrito–it is a Puerto Rican cooking base.
This stuff is so convenient for almost any of your recipes…from soups to stir-frys, to ground meats. Use this anytime you need a diced onion and green bell pepper, pressed garlic. Which for me is almost EVERY recipe.
Blend or food process 1 onion, 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 1 bunch cilantro, handful of garlic (5-6 cloves), a tomato and some green onions. You may need to add a drizzle of olive oil to help the blending. This makes a puree mixture, you can make it a little chunkier if you prefer. It smells vibrant and is colorful. Store in your fridge if you use often, or in the freezer if not. You can portion it out in ice-cube trays or small plastic containers.
With the cilantro, the mixture has a distinct Latin flavor. It smells like delicious salsa. If you omit the cilantro and the tomato, you will have a standard base for all your cooking needs.
Do yourself a favor. Just because we are eating fresh, real, food does not mean we can’t take short cuts!
Enjoy!!
Leigh (via Roni)
A delicious weekday meat sauce in the works, whipped up in a snap.
store individual portions in your freezer
Omg what a great idea..garlic, peppers and onions are also in almost every single one of my recipes!
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That’s brilliant! Why didn’t I ever think of doing that? I feel a bit stoopid now! Doh! Thanks so much for sharing
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If you get an ice cube tray, just for the sofrito, you can freeze it and pop the cubes into a freezer bag, for easier storage. You need a tray just for sofrito though, or you’ll end up with sofrito-flavored water or iced tea or whatever cold beverage you like. Not yummy.
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Wow. Thanks for the heads up. That would be a huge turnoff. I have had an automatic ice-maker for years now, so I dont even own an ice tray. 🙂
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What blender/processor or technique did you use to get the sofrito to look so good? Just the right amount of chunkiness and it has some liquid but not watery. Almost like cream. Did you liquify half and then pulse the other half into it? Thanks.
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I use a food processor, (a cheaper Hamilton Beach one from WalMart) not a Vitamix. I process the onions and peppers until they are finely diced, then add in the cilantro and process until it is chopped in evenly. I don’t liquify, 🙂 I use this in so many recipes–just the other day I added it to an Indian Korma sauce and it was perfect!!
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