Sofrito

A seasoning base that I always keep in the freezer.

Sofrito is a word that can mean many different things in different cultures. But for me, growing up, it meant this Puerto Rican version that we always had in the freezer to add to soups, beans, rice, and stews.

I’ve learned that a sofrito recipe can be FAMILY-specific. Tweaking it how you like it and then using it in all your dishes will bring a unique flavor to your cooking. This is how I learned to make it.

Sofrito

• 1 green bell pepper

• 1 yellow onion 

• 1 head of garlic

• 1 bunch of cilantro

Cut the pepper into large chunks and remove the ribs and seeds. Cut the onion into similar-sized pieces. Peal the entire head of garlic. Wash the cilantro and remove any mushy or brown stems and leaves.

In a food processor, put the garlic cloves first and pulse them a few times to finely dice them. Then add all the additional ingredients and continue to pulse until you get a fine paste. (you can add a splash of water if you find it difficult to blend, but usually, the onion and bell pepper release a decent amount of liquid.)

Freezing sofrito in the 2 tbsp tray and the 1/2 cup tray

I freeze the sofrito in the 2 tbsp Souper Cubes tray or the 1/2 cup tray, but you can also freeze it in a regular ice cube tray. Sofrito is one of the only things I’ve found hard to get the smell out of the silicone after freezing. You can bake the trays in the oven at 300ºF for 20-30 minutes to release smells, or I used to have a dedicated sofrito ice cube tray that I only used for sofrito.

Once frozen, you can remove the cubes from the trays and store them in a freezer bag.