Puerto Rican Sofrito From Scratch Recipe

Name: Puerto Rican Sofrito From Scratch Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 medium Spanish onions, cut into large chunks (about 2 cups); 4 cubanelle peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into large chunks (about 2 cups); 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups); 4 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks (about 1 1/2 cups); 1 large bunch cilantro, washed and roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups); 18 medium cloves garlic, peeled; 8 ajices dulces, stemmed (see note); 4 leaves of culantro (see note); Kosher salt

Why It Works

The fresh mixture of onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, and herbs can be used as a base for a multitude of dishes.

I first learned of sofrito watching Daisy Cooks on PBS, and have found little reason to veer from the recipe since then. This Puerto Rican version of sofrito—there are many different geographical variations—is a fresh mixture of onions, cubanelle peppers, garlic, cilantro, ajices dulces,* cilantro, culantro,* tomatoes, and red pepper quickly chopped into a fine paste in a food processor. What you're left with is enough sofrito to add some serious flavor to weeks of meals.

*While culantro and ajices dulces are easy to pick up in my neighborhood, Daisy says you don't need to sweat it if you can't find them. The ajices dulces can be omitted; substitute another handful of cilantro if you can't find culantro.

My first use was a big pot of yellow rice, with the sofrito imparting a strong herbal flavor with a hint of spice. This was followed by a chicken and potato stew, where a cup of sofrito served as the main flavoring component in a dinner that could easily feed six to eight hungry bellies.

Even after those, I had barely made a dent in my batch of sofrito, so off to the freezer it went, where I can easily tap into it whenever I'm looking to give something a strong fresh flavor.

April 2012

Puerto Rican Sofrito From Scratch Recipe

Prep 10 mins

Active 15 mins

Total 10 mins

Serves 32 servings

Makes 4 cups

2 medium Spanish onions, cut into large chunks (about 2 cups)
4 cubanelle peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into large chunks (about 2 cups)
1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
4 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 large bunch cilantro, washed and roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
18 medium cloves garlic, peeled
8 ajices dulces, stemmed (see note)
4 leaves of culantro (see note)
Kosher salt

Place onions and cubanelle peppers in workbowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse until coarsely chopped.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel
With the motor running, add the remaining ingredients one at a time through the feed tube and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt. Transfer to container and store in refrigerator for up to three days, or freeze.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

Special Equipment

Food processor

Notes

If you can't find ajices dulces, you can omit them. If you can't find culantro, substitute additional cilantro.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
14	Calories
0g	Fat
3g	Carbs
1g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 32
Amount per serving
Calories	14
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 32mg	1%
Total Carbohydrate 3g	1%
Dietary Fiber 1g	2%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 22mg	108%
Calcium 12mg	1%
Iron 0mg	1%
Potassium 86mg	2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.