# Sofrito



## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

Ok so in order to make a good stew we need a good sofrito whether is fish, meat, pork or even more important, for game meat a sofrito is where all the flavors come from, the mixture of all those herbs and aromatics create an aroma and taste unequal to anything else. In every Caribbean home and through the Americas no home is without sofrito is what the neighbors smell coming out your door.. The first known mention of the technique is in the “Libre de Sent Soví,” circa 1324. This is one of the oldest cookbooks in Europe from the Catalan region of Spain, so it's safe to say that sofrito has been an ingredient and a technique in Spanish cuisine since medieval times, ingredients have change through the world and there are many variations but is the foundation for a great dish.
My grandmother was a great cook, blind and all, and I was her eyes in the kitchen so I had to do much of the work, I always smell like garlic, from her simple garden we had everything we needed so for this and now in my kitchen here in America and with electricity in a food processor I take 2 red bellpeppers, 1 green, 2 large yellow onions, 1 head of garlic, bunch of cilantro (coriander), 2 tbsp oregano, 2 tbsp of cumin.Proccess all and put in mason jar ,top of with olive oil. I use this for all my stew types of cooking, even in warm Cuban bread, this must be sauté with a little olive oil to get all the flavors started and a good cup goes a long way in a stew .You can add tomatoes paste or sauce to it after is sauté then wine if you like even a soup bullion for added base and salt .For fish is the same but I add oriental fish sauce for that really fish taste or anchovies may work also, you can also add it to beans, even a good Spanish rice with chicken (Paella),everything you cook even eggs taste better, spiciness can be added with red pepper flakes ,Tabasco , hot peppers .But this a must for a good tasty dish and is natural and fresh none of that dry stuff.


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

readytogo said:


> Ok so in order to make a good stew we need a good sofrito whether is fish, meat, pork or even more important, for game meat a sofrito is where all the flavors come from, the mixture of all those herbs and aromatics create an aroma and taste unequal to anything else. In every Caribbean home and through the Americas no home is without sofrito is what the neighbors smell coming out your door.. The first known mention of the technique is in the "Libre de Sent Soví," circa 1324. This is one of the oldest cookbooks in Europe from the Catalan region of Spain, so it's safe to say that sofrito has been an ingredient and a technique in Spanish cuisine since medieval times, ingredients have change through the world and there are many variations but is the foundation for a great dish.
> My grandmother was a great cook, blind and all, and I was her eyes in the kitchen so I had to do much of the work, I always smell like garlic, from her simple garden we had everything we needed so for this and now in my kitchen here in America and with electricity in a food processor I take 2 red bellpeppers, 1 green, 2 large yellow onions, 1 head of garlic, bunch of cilantro (coriander), 2 tbsp oregano, 2 tbsp of cumin.Proccess all and put in mason jar ,top of with olive oil. I use this for all my stew types of cooking, even in warm Cuban bread, this must be sauté with a little olive oil to get all the flavors started and a good cup goes a long way in a stew .You can add tomatoes paste or sauce to it after is sauté then wine if you like even a soup bullion for added base and salt .For fish is the same but I add oriental fish sauce for that really fish taste or anchovies may work also, you can also add it to beans, even a good Spanish rice with chicken (Paella),everything you cook even eggs taste better, spiciness can be added with red pepper flakes ,Tabasco , hot peppers .But this a must for a good tasty dish and is natural and fresh none of that dry stuff.


RTG, I don't cook but that was an excellent post. outstanding information on the history of the recipe and then the listing of ingredients. unless it comes in a can and goes into a microwave, it is beyond my culinary expertise but I could actually visualize the cooking experience you described. This is an area where your experience and information excel.


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