Sofrito, Fresh Seasoning Anytime

My friend, Ruthie, makes the most delicious food! Being Puerto Rican raised in the States she can make latino foods as well as traditional American dishes that will make your mouth water. She shared with me one of her secrets, Sofrito, a fresh latino seasoning that's sinfully easy to make compared to the wealth of flavor it adds to just about anything you add it to! You can make it and keep it fresh in the refrigerator for a week or two, or you can do what I do, freeze it in serving sizes and have it ready to use whenever you want. (Don't let all the pictures scare you! I just decided to walk you through all the steps so you can see how easy it really is.)

Ingredients:

2 bell peppers (Ruthie uses two different colors.)

1 whole onion

1 whole garlic head (10-12 cloves)

1/2 bunch of cilantro (If the bunch is small use the whole thing.)

That's it!

Now here's what you do...

Wash everything and cut the peppers and onion into large chunks.

Peel the garlic.

Save yourself a lot of time... lay a clove on a hard surface...

press with the side of your knife.

The garlic will crush and the skin will simply fall off.

This was a fairly large bunch of cilantro so I will use half.

Cut the stems off.

Throw everything into a food processor and pulse a have a dozen times. You might need to open the canister and push down what gets thrown onto the sides a couple of times.

Pulse until your mixture looks something like this. You can do larger chunks if you like or make it even smoother. I like the minced texture that's shown because it allows the flavors to blend well while still leaving enough color diversity that looks so nice in the recipes you add it to.

At this point you can put it in an airtight container and refrigerate. It should last a week or two that way. Or you can spoon it into ice trays, freeze it over night, remove the cubes from the trays and store in a freezer bag or container to be kept indefinitely.

When you need some Sofrito all you have to do is open your freezer, grab a couple cubes and ya,ya,ya! Turn your ordinary potatoes, pot of beans, soups, scramble tofu (or eggs if you're not vegan) vegetables, dips or whatever you want into a mouthwatering treat!

It's just that easy!
I through a couple cubes of Sofrito into a pot of white bean toward the end of their cooking time. This will give the cubes a chance to melt and infuse the beans with their wonderful flavor.