What is Sofrito? First, you must understand that Puerto Rican food came from it mix of its Spaniard conquistadors, African slaves, and native Taíno roots. And while it’s quite similar to other Hispanic cuisines, Puerto Rican food still has unique flavors, aromas and blends.
Sofrito is a blend of vegetables and Latin herbs used to season. What is sofrito used for? It’s used in a lot of things. Beans, stews, rices, etc. No Puerto Rican dish is complete without the infamous sofrito. A concoction of fresh roasted garlic, onions, sweet aji, onions, recao, cilantro, red bell pepper and spices. Sofrito is used as the base of any and just about every Puerto Rican dish.
Now, Fun Facts…
There is a BIG misconception about sofrito. Traditionally, there is NO TOMATOES IN SOFRITO. I don’t care where you saw it, what PR based site you got the recipe from or who’s mothers used it, there is NO TOMATOES USED IN SOFRITO, PERIOD! Same goes for green bell peppers. Don’t use it, ever! Wonder why your sofrito doesn’t smell like your grandmothers? It’s because you used tomato’s and green bell peppers and you probably didn’t roast the vegetables either.
As time goes by generations come and go, we lose grip of our roots. We get lazy and want things done the quick and easy way. Love your food. Take the time to prepare your foods properly and pass down traditions. Who but us is left to pass on the torch? If lose it, so will our kids, and so will our heritage. As one of my good friends Kim said to me yesterday “Food is the best physical memory you can have of someone. Food is made with love and it nourishes and comforts you. Be blessed that you can pass on a legacy of food to your children and they can pass on the same legacy of food to theirs” Sofrito is about passing on a legacy people. Our ancestors left this little special recipe for us to pass on to our children.
So here I bring to you, a Puerto Rican Sofrito recipe that has been passed down to me from my grandmother, Doña Margarita Echevarria may her soul rest in peace, I miss you abuelita! This recipe was passed down from her mothers, mothers, mothers, mothers, mother. Which makes this recipe well over a CENTURY years old. You can’t get more authentic than that! 
The only change I’m making is using a food processor. Traditionally, this is supposed to be pounded in a Pilon.
Let’s get your ingredients…
This is the ORIGINAL Sofrito ingredients.
Ingredients:
- One Large Red Bell Pepper. Don’t you dare use a jar of roasted peppers! Not in my recipe, do not insult our ancestors! Follow instructions!
- One Large Yellow Onion
- 14 Aji dulce
- 1 head of garlic (roasted) You can do this by drenching the garlic head in olive oil, wrap it in aluminum foil and throw in the oven for 30 min at 350. Skin will just peel right off
- 1/4 cup PITTED Alcaparrado
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 20 Recao Leaves – Some people call this culantro. Can typically be found in Latin or Asian markets.
- 1 Bunch Cilantro
- 1 tbsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Ground Toasted Coriander Seeds
- 1/4 tsp Citric Acid – my grandma used the juice of one lemon
Step 1 – THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP. It’s been lost through the newer generations of misinformed people. Ever wonder why Mexican Salsa tastes so good? It’s because they roast the vegetables. ROAST THE VEGETABLES PEOPLE!
Peel the onion and cut into 4 parts, cut top off red bell pepper and discard seeds, cut tops off aji peppers.
Step 2 – Chop up and put all the ingredients in a food processor.
Don’t forget to add the spices
Step 3 – Process for about 1 min or until all the vegetables are at a consistency like picture below.
Step 4 - Storing your Sofrito… Some people like storing their sofrito in ice cube trays, my grandmother too. Just please, for the sake of sanitary and possible food contamination with God knows what. Use an ice cube try with a lid or top. I found this one at Bed Bath Beyond and I think it cost just a couple of bucks. You don’t want your sofrito developing freezer burns, that’s just yukkkkkkkie!
Tip… This is what I do. After the sofrito is frozen I take it out of the tray’s and store it in a freezer safe zip lock bag. After all, it’s about keeping everything fresh right?
In Johnny words “Sofrito, Cuchifrito, Que Se Joda Un Poquito!”
ENJOY!!!!! And leave a comment when you use this recipe. I want to hear everyones success! Buen Provecho!
Click on the Following links for yummy recipes featuring SOFRITO!
Pastelón – Sweet Plantain Puerto Rican Lasagna
Pollo Guisado – Puerto Rican Braised Stewed Chicken
Moro de Habichuelas – Rice and Beans (Dominican Style)
Check Out These Other Delicious Recipes!
Authentic Puerto Rican Recaito
The Sofrito Chronicles
Pollo Guisado – Puerto Rican Braised Stewed Chicken
Pastelón de Platano Maduros (amarillos) – Sweet Plantain Puerto Rican Lasagna
Elena’s Tuna & Plantain Escabeche – Puerto Rican Style!
Encebollado de Atún con Curtido – Tuna and Yuca Stew w/Onion Citrus Salsa
Elena, I love your website. I’ve been searching the web for puerto rican recipes like crazy ever since I got on this puerto rican food kick last week. I haven’t found anything like this! And by that I mean AUTHENTIC PR recipes! I love how you value your family’s heritage and tradition. I enjoy reading about your childhood memories of cooking with your mom. You capture the magical experience of cooking and what its all about: love for your family. Not only can we trust that these are authentic PR recipes, but the fact that you are generously sharing your family’s recipes with us . . . All I can say is thank you!!! I can’t wait for you to add more of your family’s cherished recipes
besitos!
Hmm.
I’ve got some churrasco in the fridge that needs marinating….
Will try that today on the grill…
Another thought.
Grilling the sofrito veggies in the grill with a smoker box filled with hickory….
Worth a try…
Definitely worth a try! I have done it without the smoke. It was much more successful than roasting on cast iron. It’s pretty cold here in New York. As soon as I can fire up my outside grill I will go for it! ☺
Yup, know what you mean…
I can’t go without grilling for 4 months, so I just fire it up year round.
You get used to it, it is all about keeping the lid closed to keep the heat in…
And having a high BTU grill; that helps too…
Yeah, the peppers and garlic were gooey which means they were cooked thru.
Maybe I’ll just add more raw garlic, lime and recao to zing it back. I like the roasted pepper taste as it is…
: )
Here’s a little recipe. 2 sofrito cubes, 1 recao cube, a cup of orange juice and melted butter. Cook until it boils. Let it cool. Use it as an overnight marinade for chicken. Roast it the next day.
Hola Elena,
Nice blog!
I have been grinding my own recaito for a while now, but I have to try pre roasting before grinding; that’s a new twist for me.
On that same thought, I’ve seen that very few sofrito recipes (notably Carmen Aboy Valdejuly’s “Practical Sofrito”) call for stewing the mix BEFORE freezing. I always thought this was done because ham was added to the mix.
Have you ever seen or tried this? I am about to try it with a new batch of recaito I ground yesterday.
Saludos desde Connecticut!
Hola John, thanks for stopping by.
I am familiar with Carmen Aboy Valdejuly. She is another fellow Bori from the island. The reason she stews the sofrito is the same reason our ancestors and I roast the vegetables. I find her method to be short on ‘smoke’ flavor. When you stew, the flavors just blend together. But roasting makes the sofritos and recaitos very pungent in flavor. My husband refuses to touch a sofrito cube as he says “the smell sinks into his skin and won’t leave for hours” The hams used are already cooked and cured. I do not use ham in my sofrito because not every recipe calls for the use of ham, therefore, I just cube them up really small and keep them in the freezer, using sparingly as I need. I just add it to the sofri’s while it’s cooking on the pot before adding other ingredients. So I take it when you say ‘ground my recaito’ you are using a pilon?
Thanks for stopping by and feel to check out The Sofrito Chronicles where every week I bring you a different Sofrito recipe from around the world.
Best… Elena
The Posh Latin Cook on Facebook
Elena,
I go back to her book to revisit/reconfirm recipes and methods that I’ve seen done in person by my parents. A classic.
I usually use a food processor like you; I own pilones, but have not found a good wooden one, de la vieja guardia, as they say. I am currently looking for a heavy duty processor to grind all those pesky ají seeds; not a fan of those….
I have seen first hand all the old school methods, but what I try to go for is having authentic “from scratch” taste everyday, with minimum prep time; which means a lot of freezing, and coming up with your own tricks. Things like juicing and freezing onion and garlic go a long way to accomplish this.
I grind and freeze salt pork or bacon on a meat grinder, and use cubes of them to add to my stews right after drizzling oil on the caldero.
I will definitely try “preroasting” today and compare to “post-stewing”!
Cheers,
John
What about removing the seeds beforehand? :/
Please come back here and let me know how everything came out!
Do you have a blog?
I usually work my Recaito in larger batches. I seed larger peppers, because there might only be 8-10 of them. But when you have 20-30 small ajies to seed, with such small seeds, it is not fun or time effective.
I just run the ajies by themselves on my processor a few times, until most of seeds are gone, never 100% gone though.
I will revert with my findings, cuenta con eso. : )
I don’t have a blog, though I use several for research.
Sabes que? I make large batches as well. You ever thought of investing in a Vitamix or Nutri-Bullet? Those two blenders pulverize the seeds.
Hola Elena,
I worked up a batch of sofrito yesterday using your recipe (kinda, I eyeballed the quantities, but the ingredients were the same). The aroma around the kitchen and the house whilst the peppers, onions and garlic cloves were being oven roasted was OUT OF THIS WORLD. Still lingering around this morning. : ) They were roasted until they were semi gooey and and slightly charred.
After food processing, the mix came out looking like your pics, so I guess my guesstimate on quantities was similar to the recipe. I did puree the mix thoroughly, and it came out more as a paste than a runny salsa-type consistency.
Usually, I like to let my homemade recaito rest on the fridge for 24 hours or so before freezing, so that the flavours settle. Como comerse un plato de arroz y habichuelas al otro dia, los sabores se integran mejor… But I did stew a quick pot of gandules to sample the sofrito right away.
My initial impression was that it is very flavourful and savory, but I was missing a bit of the zing and high notes of the raw onions, recao and garlic. You know, that savory-herby-garlicky kick that lets you know you are in territorio Boricua. I did use a lot of garlic and red peppers, but I suspect that the roasting took away that zing. Or that maybe I over roasted them. However, the stew did have more of that integrated “2nd day” taste and vibe to it. This was a nice surprise. My guess is that pre roasting accelerates that taste integration.
So I am thinking that for my own personal taste, the ideal situation would be to combine one cube of this sofrito, and one cube of regular, uncooked, raw recaito. This might be a good compromise between “2nd day stew” and “zing” taste. I’ll be trying this combination!
Saludos,
John
Hi john!
Thanks for the update. I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe.
When I make sofrito, yes the aromas stay lingering around the house for a very long time. I too store the sofrito before freezing. I feel this brings all the flavors together.
On the roasting. I believe you over roasted just a tad. I usually just roast until every part is black charred but not fully cooked. Almost seared. (Outside roasted, inside raw)
Next time try roasting less time. I will tell you my sofrito does have that zing. You might want to add a pinch of citric acid to bring it back.
On using both sofri’s… I do that. I add one cube of each. Not every recipe calls for it. But I find in soups. I can’t help myself and yes, I do use both.
E.
Elena,
The roasted peppers and onions in your picture appear pre-seared….Do you pan fry the peppers before you roast them? And what temp do you roast at and for how long?
Thinking of using the convection oven setting to accelerate the roasting…
Thanks!
Hello again, Sir!
I do not fry the peppers or onions. I fire roast both on a cast-iron right on my stove for about 10 min. frequently rotating the vegetables.
The Posh Latin Cook recently posted on her blog…
The colors look great. Can’t wait to try this.
Thank you! Let me know how it turns out.
The Posh Latin Cook recently posted on her blog…
Simply INCREDIBLE….. I could even do this. I thought they were ice pops.. great job Mama.
Can we market this SOFRITO maybe GOYA will pick this up.
Would love to baby, but Goya already has a fake, chemical induced product they sell to the public. But we can market our own Papi.
Wow Elena.. Aside from the recipe itself, i REALLY enjoy reading your underlying back stories about where the food originates. And once again, you made it impossible for anyone to mess up with all the step by step instructions and photos! I can’t wait to make this!!
How many sofrito cubes will typically be used in a typical dish?
Thanks for the sweet comment Jen. <3
Typically, I use 2. But some recipes call for 3 cubes. It really depends on what you’re making. I’ve had some recipes where I only use 1 cube. For my adobo sauce, I use 4 cubes. So really, it’s just depends on what you’re making.