SIDES & SALADS
TESTER’S COMMENTS
A foundation in Spanish and Caribbean cooking, sofrito (soe-FREE-toe) explodes with flavor. Use as salsa, with chips, or as a “bright” addition to soups, beans, or rice. Experiment with ingredients: Roma, or “plum,” tomatoes are not as juicy as slicers. Try different peppers and onions, too, and if it’s all that you’ve got, make do with the herbs that you have on hand.
–J.S.
5 |
cloves garlic |
3 |
tomatoes, roughly chopped |
1 |
red onion, roughly chopped |
1 |
red bell pepper, roughly chopped |
1 |
green bell pepper, roughly chopped |
1 |
bunch fresh chives, roughly chopped |
1 |
bunch fresh oregano, stemmed and roughly chopped |
1 |
bunch fresh cilantro, stemmed and roughly chopped |
1 |
bunch fresh parsley, stemmed and roughly chopped |
Place garlic, tomatoes, onions, peppers, chives, oregano, cilantro, and parsley in a food processor. Process in quick bursts, then for 30 to 60 seconds, or until as chunky or pulverized as you like. If you start with tomatoes, you should not need to add water; the tomatoes add enough juice.
Makes about 2 cups, depending on size of vegetables.
I make a large batch of this and then freeze it in smaller containers. I always keep a working batch thawed in my fridge.
Sheilla I. Parkerson, Jaffrey, New Hampshire
Did you know? Cilantro tastes like soap to 1 in 7 people.