Sofito and an Impromtu Chemical Peel

If you visit regularly or have been reading this blog for awhile you probably have seen the ingredient “sofrito” mentioned a few times in my Puerto Rican recipes.   This is a must have condiment to keep on hand for any Puerto Rican dish.  It is the entire island’s secret ingredient.  Don’t tell them I told you.

Although you can buy it at most grocery stores I figured I could also tell you how to make it at home.  Just in case you are a reader from the middle of nowhere’s land North Dakota or something. 

Besides it is incredibly easy and it’s always better when it is homemade.

All you need are the following vegetables.  The one thing that will probably be hardest to find is the culantro.  It is a long flat leaf that is kind of spiny on the edges.  I was excited to find it at my local Asian market and grabbed a bunch of it, probably more then I needed.  Another hard to find ingredient are “aji dulces” which are sweet chili peppers.  They actually look like really small habanero peppers or hot Jamaican peppers, so be careful not to confuse them.

What you need: Green Bell Pepper, Cilantro, Culantro, Roasted Red Pepper, Garlic, Stuffed Olives, Oregano, Onion, Salt, Pepper and Food Processor.

Put everything in a food processor and puree.

Spoon puree into ice tray & freeze. Store cubes in zip-loc bag, they measure out to 1 tbs each.

There are many variations of sofrito, feel free to make any adjustments.

Print Recipe

Sofrito

• 1 bunch Cilantro
• 8 leaves of culantro (if you can’t find add some extra cilantro)
• 1 head of garlic
• 2 large onion
• 1/2 lb. sweet chili peppers
• 2 large green bell peppers
• ½ cup olives with pimientos
• 1 sm jar roasted red peppers
• 1 tbsp. capers
• 2 tbsp. crushed oregano
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

Rinse, peel and chopp vegetables. Combine in food processor and puree.

Spoon into ice tray and freeze. Store cubes in zip-loc bag. Each cube measures 1 tbs.

If purchasing sofito at a store a few things to know.

You can typically find it in the Latin food aisle. It is Goya brand, but Goya makes 2 different kinds a red and a green.  You want the green which is labled “Recaito” even though the red says “Sofrito”.  Traditionally Puerto Rican “sofrito” does not have tomato in it.  Just think GREEN.

If you are in the Tulsa area. The supermarket’s jars tend to be very small.  You can find larger jars and all other kinds of interesting foods at the Asian Market Nam Hai at 21st and Garnett.  They keep them on a shelf above the refrigeration bins, towards the produce.  You can also find Goya Adobo and Sazon there, I think that maybe on a rack between the fishmarket and produce. When you walk in go right.  The market is disorganized and has a funny smell because of the seafood market in the back, but you can find some really interesting ingrediants there.

Tagged as: cilantro, culantro, garlic, puerto rico, sofito