How to Make Sofrito for Arroz con Pollo

Sofrito is a traditional ingredient in many Latin American dishes, and is versatile enough to include in beans, stews, and soups. It's particularly delicious in arroz con pollo, Spanish chicken and rice. There are many ways to make sofrito, but an uncooked version will preserve the flavor of the fresh ingredients.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 1 sweet green pepper
• 1 sweet red pepper
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1 onion
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• Prepared sofrito
• Resealable plastic container

Make Sofrito

1. Use your fingers to pull the cilantro and parsley leaves from the stems. Discard the stems. Bunch the cilantro and parsley with one hand and carefully chop it with a chef's knife. Repeat.
2. Place the sweet red pepper on the cutting board. Cut around the core and pull the stem out. Cut the pepper across, and use your fingers to pull out the seeds and white inner part.
3. Cut each pepper half into thin strips, and then bunch up the strips with one hand, and chop the pepper. The pieces should be fairly small. Repeat with the sweet green pepper.
4. Place the garlic clove on the cutting board, and press the rounded edge of a fork against the clove. Press the fork down firmly with your hand. The peel will pop off easily. Mince the garlic with a serrated knife.
5. Slice the ends off the onion. Cut about 1/4 inch into each side, and pull off the onion peel. Chop the onion into small cubes.
6. Wash and chop the tomatoes.
7. Put about half of the prepared ingredients into a food processor. Pulse the mixture several times, stopping to scrape down the sides. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until the mixture is totally blended into a paste. Add the olive oil and blend.

Store Sofrito

8. Reserve about 3 tbsp. of the prepared sofrito, and set it aside to use in the arroz con pollo.
9. Put the remainder of the sofrito in a plastic container with a tight seal.
10. Store the sofrito in the freezer for up to 4 months, and thaw it as needed, or store it in the refrigerator up to 1 month.

Tips & Warnings

• You can easily store recipe-sized sofrito. Put the sofrito in an ice cube tray and freeze. Remove the frozen sofrito cubes from the tray and store them in a resealable plastic bag.