Puerto Rican Sofrito
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Welcome back! If you love Puerto Rican cuisine it is essential that you learn how to make Puerto Rican sofrito. Sofrito consists of a blended mixture of onions, garlic, cilantro, culantro, and peppers. Sofrito is the foundation of many Puerto Rican dishes including: pollo guisado, Puerto Rican rice and beans, lechon, pernil, pinchos de carne, and picadillo. You can definitely find sofrito in stores, but I HIGHLY suggest you take the 10 minutes to make your own. It will taste so much better and it is an invaluable recipe to be familiar with if you ever need to make your own in a pinch.
Puerto Rican Sofrito Alternatives
If you do not have any premade sofrito on hand, then feel free to hand chop all of the vegetables and herbs listed below and add them to your recipe that way. It will still impart that Puerto Rican flavor the same way the sofrito does. However, it goes without saying that having sofrito stored in your refrigerator or freezer is extremely convenient and quicker when you are cooking.
If you aren’t interested in making your own Puerto Rican sofrito, then the only premade sofrito I can recommend is Loisa Sofrito. This product can be found easily online via the Loisa website or the Loisa Amazon storefront. I recommend this sofrito over the major competitor Goya because this company uses natural ingredients without harmful preservatives or dyes and no MSG.
Aji Dulce Peppers & Culantro
If you live anywhere in the United States other than south Florida, you will have a very hard time finding fresh aji dulce peppers and fresh culantro leaves. These are readily found in the Caribbean and are huge staple in Puerto Rican cuisine. The best places to find these ingredients are your local Fiesta grocery store or any privately owned small latin grocery store.
My Puerto Rican sofrito recipe provides an alternative to aji dulce peppers for this reason. Green bell peppers and pimiento peppers are used as a substitute for the aji dulce peppers. As for the recao leaves (culantro), I have made this recipe many times over without the culantro leaves and aji dulce peppers, and each dish still tastes delicious and authentic. I wouldn’t stress too much if you can’t find them. The recipe below provides instructions on how to make Puerto Rican sofrito with and without aji dulce peppers & culantro leaves.
how to grow aji dulce peppers and culantro – check out the garden page
Essential Tools
- food processor (click for my favorite food processor) or blender
- large 1-2 quart storage container with a lid
click here for my puerto rican Pollo a la plancha recipe (grilled chicken)!
Homemade Puerto Rican Sofrito
Ingredients
- 1 large white onion (2 medium)
- 3 green bell pepper (omit if you have aji dulce peppers)
- 4 oz container of pimiento peppers (omit if you have aji dulce peppers)
- 1 bunch of fresh cilantro
- 1-2 bunches of fresh culantro (recao)
- 20 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1-2 Tbsp of water
Directions
- Start by quartering your onions and bell peppers. I recommend removing the seeds from the bell peppers.
- Add the onions to the food processor/blender with 1 Tbsp of water. The moisture released by the onions after they have been blended will help when adding the additional ingredients.
- Add in your green bell pepper (or aji dulce peppers if you have them) to the onion mixture. Blend until smooth.
- Add the garlic and the 4 oz container of pimiento peppers (omit if you are using aji dulce peppers) – blend until smooth.
- Finally add 1 tsp of kosher salt and your culantro and cilantro – if working with a blender, it may be helpful to roughly chop the leaves prior to adding to the blender. Blend until smooth.
- Pour into 2 separate storage containers of your choice – glass/pyrex is preferable. Freeze one container for later use and store one in the refrigerator to use as needed.
buen provecho!
FAQs
is the aji dulce pepper spicy?
No it is not. The pepper is flavorful and aromatic with a slightly sweet, fruity taste. This is why the recipe calls for green bell pepper and pimientos to substitute for this flavor.
What does culantro taste like?
It is in the same family as cilantro, but definitely different. Culantro, has a strong aromatic taste and smell. it is slightly earthier than cilantro. There really isn’t a substitute for this herb because nothing else tastes like it.
what is sofrito used for?
Sofrito is used to start the majority of sauces in Puerto Rican cuisine. It is used in Puerto Rican rice and beans, salsa criolla, Puerto Rican chicken soup (asopao), etc. You can also use Puerto Rican sofrito as a marinade for lechon, chuletas (pork chops), and pernil. Arroz con gandules also calls for sofrito.
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