It's the secret Hispanics have been using to add a punch of flavor to pretty much any dish for centuries. It's used in most dishes in the Caribbean but is especially popular in Puerto Rican & Dominican cooking. This combination of herbs & spices will make you want to bust out the stretchy pants as you fill your plate with seconds (or thirds). Am I right?!

What is this not-so-secret ingredient? Sofrito! Ok… So it's not really a secret and it's not it's not technically a sauce. Sofrito is used more as a base for just about any Puerto Rican rice, beans, soup or stews. It's actually not even technically a base. It's a method of cooking which was brought to the Caribbean by spanish settlers in the 1400s. Sofrito not only ranges in ingredients & color, but also has names in different regions of the Caribbean & Latin America. Some countries include vinegar & tomatoes, while others call for ham & hot peppers. In Puerto Rico, Sofrito is also known as Recaito and includes sweet peppers & culantro.

My grandmother's Sofrito is a blend of bell peppers, onion, garlic & cilantro, making it more green in color. This recipe makes a batch large enough to last a while, since you only need 2-3 dollops per recipe. My grandmother raised 7 children, so she went through these batches much faster than I ever will. Sometimes, I’ll either cut the recipe in half or I'll occasionally buy the Recaito in a jar from my local Latin Market. Shhhh...I won't tell if you don't. Honestly, making it from scratch is easy, tastes way better & ends up being the more affordable option. Try it out and add a little to your next batch of rice & keep an eye out for more veganized & veggified versions of Abuela Naty's famous dishes in the future.

Notes & Substitutions:

Equipment: Blender or food processor
Cilantro-Allergy: I'm so sorry, but I'm not sure I have any subs for you. Sofrito is a base in most Puerto Rican dishes I was taught to cook. I've only ever had sofrito made with cilantro & have never thought to change it. Here's an article with general cilantro substitution options, but I have not personally tried any of these out in my Puerto Rican dishes myself. If you do try out any cilantro subs, I would recommend blending a batch of all ingredients without cilantro, then you can mix a little of the cilantro-sub with a few spoonfuls of the mixture first before risking the entire batch.
Servings & storage: This recipe makes a large batch since you only need a couple spoonfuls depending on what, how much and how often you're cooking. I usually only cook my grandmother's recipes a handful of times a year, so I like to freeze them in smaller batches or ice cubes stored in a freezer bag.

Ingredients:

1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Orange or Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Yellow or White large onion
A Bundle of fresh Cilantro
A head of garlic (or enough to kill a vampire)

Instructions:

Roughly chop all ingredients & load into your blender or food processor until it's well mixed.
Use as directed in each recipe & freeze the rest until the next time you need it.