Everyone makes Puerto Rican sofrito in their own way. Just like cooking, we all have our own styles. This is my personal way of making sofrito. You will find that everyone makes it slightly different. There isn’t a perfect, right or wrong way, we all have our own “Sabor” aka style. After making sofrito a few times, and cooking with it, you’ll be able to play around with the recipe and make it your own.
Ingredients:
- 1 small bag of yellow onions
- About the same amount of onions, buy a variety of peppers (green, red, orange, yellow). It’s your choice, although they can all be green.
- 1 bunch of cilantro (and/or culantro)
- 6 to 8 oz. of peeled garlic cloves. I don’t measure, but I’d say about 2 or 3 handfuls. I like a lot of garlic so I buy a pack of already peeled garlic cloves and put it all in there.
The next 2 ingredients are optional, as these are harder to find in stores sometimes. It all depends on where you live, and how much access you have to Latino groceries. No biggie if you can’t find these, as cilantro and bell peppers are very similar in flavor.
- About 2 handfuls of “Ajisito” aka “Aji dulce” (similar to a sweet pepper).
- 1 bunch of “Recao” aka culantro. In stores, it would be near the cilantro as they are very similar in taste. If you do find it, it’ll be long green leaves and probably say “Recao” on it.
Note: You would add these in addition to the other ingredients.
Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together in a blender, if it’s too hard to mix, add a bit of water or oil until they start to blend. If they don’t all fit, you can start a bit at a time or in batches.
To store; Keep 1 jar or container in the fridge to use as needed, and freeze the rest. You can either use various plastic containers or use ice cube trays to freeze the sofrito in portions, then move to a large ziplock bag, and save in the freezer. It’s all up to you!
Sofrito is a very important ingredient in Puerto Rican cooking, and even on a daily basis. It’s used in rice, beans, stews, soups, meats, and more. It’s what gives Puerto Rican foods it’s amazing flavor.
Depending on what I’m making, I use about 1 or 2 tbs at a time. It all depends on the amount of food you are making. Examples, for 1 can of beans, I’d use 1 tbs, and for 3 cups of rice, I’d use 2 tbs. It is all preference, and you may have to play around with it to find out yours.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, and able to apply to your next Puerto Rican dish!
Made with love,
Mayra – Your Nutrition Dork Guide