A burrito on a plate with guacamole and sour cream
My culantro plant has gotten full & bushy in the warm, sunny greenhouse. I couldn't wait to make a batch of culantro sofrito for beans, rice, eggs and just spooning onto everything to give winter a little 'summer' spice! Sofrito is a very flavorful blend of garlic, onions, peppers, tomato, culantro, cilantro, oregano and a little vinegar chopped or pureed and seasoned to taste. I think every chef has their own recipe for sofrito. It's simply heated in oil and added to a variety of dishes to add amazing flavor.

Culantro Sofrito

I was excited to purchase some exotic herbs at a Vietnamese plant stand near Philly one summer day. It turned out that one was a beefsteak plant (turned out to be shiso), another thai baby eggplant, floating enhydra, minari (a spicy, leafy green parsley/celery like herb) and Vietnamese culantro! I'd only used culantro a few times in my career, it's challenging to find but I had researched and was a fan! My sofrito recipe is inspired by the famous Puerto Rican chef Alfredo Ayala. I met and assisted him in preparing for his demo at the CIA San Antonio many years ago. To this day I remember his passion and respect for ingredients such as the sweet peppers of Puerto Rico, simple garlic, rice and culantro when he taught me to prepare sofrito. I like to keep my recipe simple and flexible so I can use it for a variety of dishes, if you like extra garlic or more spice... just add a little more garlic or add some hot peppers, etc...

Sofrito

Prep Time: 20 min

Blending Time: 15 min

Yield: 4 portions


Ingredients       

8  ea                   Garlic, peeled                                                                                 

2 Cups              Spanish onions, peeled and rough chopped

1 Cup                 Tomatoes, seeded and rough chopped 

1  Cup                Red bell peppers, split, seeded and rough chopped

1 Cup                 Green bell peppers, split, seeded and rough chopped

1 Cup                Culantro, fresh leaves, washed

2 Cups             Cilantro, fresh leaves and stems, washed

4 Tbsp              Oregano, fresh leaves

2 oz                   Vinegar, white

tt                         Kosher Salt

tt                        Crushed Black Pepper


How to Prepare Sofrito

A pot filled with rice and greens is being cooked
A close up of a tortilla with meat and rice on a cutting board.
A tortilla with meat rice and cheese on it


Step 1

Simply blend or chop all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender, season to taste.



Scrape down the sides to avoid chunks.


Step 2

Scrape down the sides to avoid large chunks.




Step 3

Season to taste, label and store in tightly sealed containers/ freeze for future use.

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