Puertorican Sofrito Recipe

In the decade that I’ve lived in the states making sofrito has always been a challenge. For those not familiar, sofrito is the heart and soul of puertorican cooking. It serves as a base for the seasoning we use in stews, soups, veggies and a ton more. Traditionally, its made with local peppers, onion, cilantro, culantro and a ton of garlic.

Living in the diaspora, it’s sometimes hard to find juuuuuuust the right pepper and culantro is almost impossible. I love using sofrito to sauteé veggies, tofu and even mixing it in the water to make lentils.

Ingredients

• 3 bell peppers

• 12 sweet peppers (ajies dulces)

• 1 head of garlic

• 2 large onions

• 2 tbsp of oregano 

• 1 cilantro bunch

• 10 leaves culantro (see notes) 

• 1 tbsp achiote oil (optional) 

• 1/4 cup of olive oil

• Salt + Pepper

Directions

1. In small batches, combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until it takes the consistency of salsa.

Storage Tip

sofrito ice cubes! To lengthen the life of your sofrito, pour most of it into ice cubes trays and freeze it.

Dont want ice cubes? cool! Store it in a airtight container and refrigerate it.

Note about ingredients:

• Culantro (recao) is looks very different from cilantro. Culantro leaves are long and kind of serrated. It’s hard to find in the states but I have found it in some international markets under ‘Mexican Coriander’ or chandon beni.