Sofrito Documentary

Yes, this is a headshot photography blog. But it is my photography blog, so I’m going to blog about cooking. And besides, I took pictures, so it is still photography-related! :)

Sofrito is a base used for cooking in Spanish cuisine. It can be used in a lot of things, but mostly for beans, soups, stews, and rice. It’s so flavorful that I like to put it in ground beef for tasty burgers and empanadas. Usually it is sautéed in a pan with some Pam or other oil before the rest of the ingredients are added. It smells so good when it is being sautéed! You can buy it in the Spanish frozen food section of certain grocery stores, and that stuff is pretty good. But my mom likes to make her own sometimes so she can freeze it and have it on hand when she wants it. Here’s her recipe. It varies, but this is how she made it this particular day.

About 20 cloves of garlic. We’re wild in our kitchen, we don’t measure. We approximate. That day we felt like using 20 cloves (is it 20? Did someone count them in the picture? I didn’t). Next week we might use 30. You just never know how CRAZY we’re gonna get! Two to three heads of garlic are what you’ll need. (Also, I just read the Twilight series and figured a little extra garlic couldn’t hurt…)

3 green peppers and 2 red peppers. Normally you would just use the green peppers, but she decided to spice things up this time (no pun intended, seriously!). There’s my beautiful mom smashing some garlic.
That’s a pilón, otherwise known as a mortar and pestle. I don’t think we used it, but we’ll pretend we did, because every Hispanic house has one, and we don’t want to have our membership revoked.
Oh cilantro, how I loveth and hateth thee so. See, I have some beef with cilantro. Actually, I have beef with people who abuse cilantro. It is a very powerful herb! And it has the capacity of overwhelming a dish if allowed to do so. In small doses it can be good; more often than not it is used too liberally and then it’s all I can taste. Normally I have restaurants hold the cilantro, for they have little restraint. However, my mother insists it is a vital ingredient to sofrito, so I have to accept it.Red peppers are show-offs. Look at that cluster of seeds! Here’s the green pepper. He didn’t want to show off like his red cousin. He’s a little more modest. But that didn’t stop me from pushing him out of his comfort zone! Sometimes I get carried away in Photoshop.This is my mom’s trusty old cookbook. How can you go wrong when the book explains that before you cook a chicken, you have to kill it and deplume it? Oh, don’t act all shocked like you didn’t know they did that to the chicken nuggets you ate today from Wendy’s. She’s showing that green pepper who’s boss! More peppers. Still putting the smackdown!These are ajies dulces, or small, sweet cooking peppers (not to be confused with habanero chiles). They do look very similar to habaneros, but they’re not as big or as hot. They’re the runts – the black sheep, if you will. Only they’re green and orange. And sometimes yellow. And maybe red. In the bottom right corner of the picture you can see the onions. That’s right, they’re covered by my watermark. But they’re there! There’s that cilantro, trying to take over the world. You need a cup of olive oil, otherwise the blender won’t like you very much.
Here are all the colorful ingredients ready for a whirl.
Mom adding more of that herb CILANTRO into the mix. Can you smell it? It’s taking over already. Here it is after being chopped, processed and pureed. Isn’t it colorful?
We made enough for three jars. Two will go in the freezer for later, and one in the fridge. If you’ve never cooked with sofrito before, give it a try. It spices up your meal in a great way. It’s got all the essentials in it! It’s fabuloso!

Sofrito
2 to 3 heads of garlic, peeled

5 green peppers, chopped (you can substitute a couple of red ones if you like)
1 bunch cilantro, rinsed

4 medium onions, chopped
1/2 pound ajies dulces (small sweet cooking peppers), seeds removed

2 tsp cumin

1 cup olive oil

Put it all in a food processor or a blender and you’re good to go! This recipe makes a lot, so you can cut it in half if you like. Buen provecho!