If you’re new to the concept of sofrito, it’s basically the blending a bunch of fresh vegetables, aromatics and herbs to use as a sauté base. You can use it in soups, stews, rice, or anything you sauté or boil. 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 convenience of having everything premixed. But it 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 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.
I confess, I’m not from the South. My experience cooking Southern food stems from watching home chefs on YouTube and cooking for my Southern boyfriend. I’m met with much trial and error and I love the learning process. And even though my Black family has origins in Rhode Island, the Southern tradition of fried green tomatoes made its way into my late grandfather’s kitchen. He used to fry them, just like they do in the South.
My grandfather is not from the South, but green tomatoes managed to make their way into his cooking.
The two ingredients that make this Southern Sofrito distinct are green tomatoes and tabasco peppers. They can be difficult to find. If you can only find a red tomato, go ahead and work with what you have. Tabasco peppers can also be found stored in vinegar in many grocery stores.
Green tomatoes are a key ingredient to my American Southern Sofrito. Grow your own if you can!
Ingredients for southern sofrito
Amounts for the following ingredients are completely flexible. Feel free to adjust these 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.
(left) In the next coming growing season, be sure to try and grow your won Tabasco peppers if you have just a little bit of space. Or you can buy them preserved in vinegar from a grocery store. (right) Green tomatoes can be difficult to find, so if you can find them, great! If not, grow your own if you have the space and patience.
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.
What to make with this sofrito…
Once this is made in the freezer, you have an instant flavor base for countless comforting 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 Greenswhile simmering upon completion to add a hint of freshness.
Sauté this sofrito to use as a flavor base in my Sautéed Collard Greens.
