Simple Puerto Rican Sofrito

Simple Puerto Rican Sofrito

A good sofrito is the foundation of most Puerto Rican dishes. It is the reason for the irresistible Caribbean flavors and aromas that came from my great grandmother’s cottage kitchen. The smell and taste of the sofrito base are a memorable part of my childhood, family gatherings, and home. It exudes love and life. And it can be made so simply and used as a basic platform for numerous dishes, Puerto Rican and your own.

Ingredients:
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 large yellow onion
• head of garlic
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• ¼ cup of pitted Spanish green olives
• 1 tbsp. of capers
• 1 tbsp. of black pepper
• 1 tbsp. of crushed oregano
• 2 tsp. of salt
• ½ cup of olive oil

Roast and peel all or most of the skin off the peppers, taking out the seeds and stem. Cut up or tear the peppers apart.
Peel and chop the onion and garlic.
Chop the cilantro.
Put the peppers, onion, garlic, and cilantro in a blender (hope you have a large one!).
Add the olives, capers, pepper, oregano, salt, and olive oil to the blender.
Puree all of the ingredients thoroughly.

Now, there is no way you’re going to use all of this sofrito at once! The beauty of making this amount is that you can store it for later when you need it and the best way to do this is by using ice cube trays. You’ll need at least two ice cube trays to freeze the bulk of your sauce, and put the bit of excess in a container in the fridge. Or, use two and half ice cube trays. Freeze and store the frozen cubes of sofrito in a gallon sized freezer bag. I usually use between 2 to 4 sofrito cubes for my Puerto Rican recipes, depending how large the dishes are.

From my home to yours…enjoy!