Sofrito

Filed under Seasonings

Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, and freezes beautifully.

Ingredients

  • 2 Onion, medium Spanish onions (about 12 ounces), cut into large chunks
  • 3 Cubanelle pepper, 3 to 4, or Italian frying peppers; cored, seeded and cut into large chunks
  • 16 clove Garlic, 16 to 20, peeled
  • 1 bunch Cilantro, large, washed
  • 7 Aji dulce, 7 to 10, optional
  • 4 leaf Culantro, optional
  • 3 Plum tomatoes, 3 to 4 ripe (about 1 pound), cored and cut into chunks
  • 1 Red bell pepper, large, cored, seeded and cut into large chunks

Directions

  1. Chop the onion and Cubanelle or Italian peppers in the work bowl of a food processor until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, add the remaining ingredients 1 at a time and process until smooth.

Cook's note: ajices dulces are little sweet peppers that look similar to the fiery hot Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, only smaller. They have a wonderful fresh herbal flavor, almost like cilantro, but only a tiny bit of heat. Culantro is an herb with broad, round-tipped leaves. Its flavor is similar to cilantro, but much more intense. Both are available in Latin markets. If you cannot find them, simply increase the amount of cilantro to 1 1/2 bunches.