By Yesenia Arrunategui, Chef Educator
As we celebrate the last few days of Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month, we have a special sofrito recipe from Yesenia Arrunategui @mywhiskandmat, one of our Chef Educators! Sofrito is an aromatic blend of fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices to create flavorful rice dishes, marinades, stews, and soup. It is one of the most important components of Latin dishes.
Yesenia’s Puerto Rican Sofrito/Recaíto highlights Caribbean ingredients such as, recao (culantro) and ajícitos dulces (sweet chili peppers.) Culantro is similar to cilantro, but has a more pungent and citrusy flavor. Turmeric and pepper are used for added color and health benefits!
Watch Yesenia’s market run here!
Let us know if you try this at home + tag us @sylviacenter!
Prep Time: 20 min | Yield: 1 quart
Ingredients
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch culantro
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
5 ajicitos dulces (sweet mini peppers) – optional
1 yellow onion
1 head of garlic
1 bitter orange – may substitute for apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dried oregano (preferably Caribbean)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp ground black pepper
Preparations
- To a blender or food processor add roughly chopped cilantro, culantro, peppers, onion, and garlic.
- Add the juice of 1 bitter orange, oregano, salt, turmeric, and black pepper.
- Blend to a chunky paste-like consistency.
*Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week or freeze in an ice cube tray so you always have it handy for meal prep!
