Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Homemade Sofrito: Latin cooking base




I have been racking my brain, for the last week trying to come up with something to share for WFMW. It has been really stressful, lol. I'm new to blogging and I don't want to be the lame newbie. I decided that I would share a recipe that is a staple for my family and many other Latin families.

Sofrito is like the secret ingredient of latin food. We use it in Everything! From beans to beef stew, soup to a marinade, it's very versatile and add's amazing flavor to your dishes. It can be found in the international section of your supermarket, under the Goya brand or frozen in the freezer section . The version I prefer is called recaito. The one from the freezer is better then the jar stuff, but neither come close to homemade. Once you try the real stuff you will be hooked.


Ingredients


2 Green bell peppers or cubanelle peppers

1 large spanish onion

5 large cloves of garlic

1 bunch cilantro

1/2 bunch recao/culantro (hard to find, skip it)

1 cube chicken bouillon

1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil (to get it moving)


Cut peppers in half, remove seeds and membrane. Peel and cut onions in quarters. Rinse cilantro and culantro and pat dry. I cut the bunch of cilantro in half and use it stems and all. Throw all ingredients in a blender or food processor and let it rip! You want a smooth consistency, it should like the picture above when your done. Store in the fridge, in an airtight food container. Or you can keep half in the fridge and half in the freezer. You can even pour it into ice cube trays and freeze, when you need some pop it out and throw into the pot.


This is how I get great flavor in my beans, soups, and stews. It's what works for me, and I hope it works for you too.

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