The concept of sofrito is simple. Long story short … you’re basically blending a combination of fresh vegetables, aromatics, and herbs to use as a sauté base. It’s great for soups, stews, rice, and beans. You can also stir in some fresh sofrito at the end of a simmered recipe to impart a hint of freshness. Many cultures have their own version of sofrito. The French have a mire poix, and Jamaica has green seasoning, so I created this blend featuring American Southern ingredients. Make this in large batches and store it in the freezer.
Why cook with sofrito?
Cook with sofrito because it’s instant, plant-based flavor! Everything is pre-mixed, so you’re not having to chop, slice, and dice EVERY time you start from scratch. Using sofrito also allows you to achieve a consistent flavor every time you make a particular recipe, just like a spice blend. The combination of celery, onions, and green bell pepper is known as the “holy trinity” of gumbo. This is technically a sofrito. I simply built upon that and brought some other flavors into the mix.
Tabasco peppers bring the heat to this American Southern sofrito.
I’m not from the South. My Black family has origins in Rhode Island as descendants of slaves imported directly from Africa in the 1700s. However, the Southern tradition of fried green tomatoes made its way into my late grandfather’s (pictured below) kitchen. He used to fry them, just like they do in the South.
My grandfather is not from the South, but fried green tomatoes managed to make their way into his Rhode Island cooking.
The two ingredients that make this Southern Sofrito distinct are green tomatoes and Tabasco peppers. They can both be difficult to find, but look for green tomatoes at farmers’ markets. You can sometimes find jars of Tabasco peppers stored in vinegar sold in some grocery stores.
Green tomatoes are a key ingredient to my American Southern Sofrito. Grow your own if you can!
A finished batch of green tomato sofrito, ready to go in the freezer.
What to make with this sofrito
Once you have this mixture stored in the freezer, you have an instant flavor base to use in countless recipes. I’ve stored sofrito in the freezer for well over a year.
Use this Southern Sofrito in any soup or stew, including my Vegan Gumbo with Mashed Yams recipe.
Use this sofrito as a sauté base in my recipe for Green Tomato Brown Rice.
Stir some of this sofrito into a batch of my Lean Collard Greens upon completion to add a hint of freshness.
Sauté this sofrito to use as a flavor base in my Sautéed Collard Greens.
Sofrito of the American South
Ingredients
Amounts for the following ingredients are completely flexible, so adjust to your liking.
- celery
- white onion
- garlic cloves
- green bell pepper
- parsley
- tabasco peppers
- green tomatoes, if you can find them
- red vine tomato
If you can’t grow Tabasco peppers, find them in grocery stores stored in vinegar.
Instructions
There’s nothing difficult happening here … simply cut everything into tiny pieces and blend in a food processor. Store your sofrito in a plastic bag in the freezer.
