Puerto Rican Sofrito
Puerto Rican sofrito is a raw green base of herbs, peppers, onions and garlic that seasons beans, rice, soups and stews. Its signature flavor comes from recao, also called culantro, and small sweet ají dulce peppers, which bell peppers can stand in for. This pork-free version needs no cooking, so it comes together fast, and frozen cubes let you drop a measured portion of flavor into a pot whenever you need it.
Instructions
Chop the recao, cilantro, tomatoes and onions, and seed the tomatoes, ají dulce, red bell pepper and cubanelle peppers. Separate the head of garlic into cloves and peel them.
Put everything into a food processor, working in batches if the bowl is small, or pound it in a mortar and pestle. Grind until the mixture is a uniform, thick paste with no large pieces of pepper or onion left.
Spoon the sofrito into a jar and keep it in the refrigerator. This version contains no pork, so it is used raw and is not cooked before storing.
For longer storage, pour the sofrito into ice cube trays and freeze it. Two or three frozen cubes are enough for a recipe that serves 6 to 8 people.
Make it personal.
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