The concept of sofrito is simple. Long story short … you’re basically blending of a combination of fresh vegetables, aromatics and herbs to use as a sauté base. You can use it in soups, stews, rice, or anything you sauté. You can also stir in some sofrito at the end of a simmered recipe to impart a hint of freshness. Many cultures have their own version, and seeing how I enjoy learning about American Southern cuisine, I felt inclined to create a sofrito which features Southern ingredients. You can make this in large batches, store it in the freezer, and use small portions in recipes as needed.
A huge benefit to cooking with sofrito is certainly the ease and convenience of having everything pre-mixed. Using it also allows you to achieve a consistent flavor every time you make a particular recipe in the same way a spice blend. The combination of celery, onions and green bell pepper is know as the “holy trinity” of gumbo. This is technically a sofrito. So, I was inclined to build upon that and bring some other flavors into the mix. The timing for this idea was perfect because I still had lots of cherry tomatoes and Tabasco peppers waiting to ripen in my balcony garden.
Tabasco peppers bring the heat to this American Southern sofrito.
Let me be clear, 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. So given this context, 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. I learned Southern cooking from friends and by watching Southern home cooks on YouTube.
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 be difficult to find, so if you can only find a red tomato, go ahead and work with what you have. And instead of growing Tabasco peppers, jars of them in vinegar are sold in grocery stores.
Green tomatoes are a key ingredient to my American Southern Sofrito. Grow your own if you can!
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 an insane amount of time, I can’t even put into words.
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
Theres 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.
