How to prepare a sofrito that improves all your recipes

From Spain to the Middle East, almost any good recipe begins with a sofrito, namely vegetables cut in small pieces which are sautéed or stir-fried in oil. Therefore, it is worth reviewing the tips to get the most out of it and improve our preparations.

The ingredients of a sofrito:

1. EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (EVOO)

In France it’s usual to fry with butter, but in almost all other Mediterranean countries extra virgin olive oil is preferred, and it is what I always use in my recipes.

Many times it is suggested not to “waste” this green gold and use lower quality oils instead, but many investigations have already shown that EVOO maintains greater nutritional properties even when cooked.

Surprisingly, it has even been shown to be much healthier than other vegetable oils when used in larger quantities for deep-frying, if later preserved for reuse.

There is also a belief that this oil is toxic when heated. This is true only when it exceeds a very high temperature, that point is easily recognizable because smoke begins to arise. But it’s enough to start the sauté before that point to avoid any worries.

2. ONION AND GARLIC

The base of a good sofrito has at least one onion and one clove of garlic.

It’s usually advisable to remove the germ from both if it is very green, since they can be indigestible. The outer layer of the onion is also usually removed, as its texture is harder and therefore less pleasant.

In some recipes we can replace the onion with scallions or shallots.

Finally, as the garlic takes less time to caramelize than the onion, it’s best not to put them together, so that the first one doesn’t burn.

3. TOMATO AND PEPPER

If we are going to prepare a tomato sauce, of course we will need a good amount of this ingredient. And the pepper in general is an excellent companion.

If we do not use passata or canned crushed tomatoes, we should choose the ripest ones and leave the hardest ones for salad.

To obtain a better texture, it is convenient to peel them. To do this, it is enough to immerse them in boiling water for half a minute, after which the peel will come off very easily.

For the same purpose, many also prefer to remove the seeds.

The latter is also true for the pepper, especially if we are using a hot variety, chili, etc. We can reduce its intensity of spiciness by getting rid of its seeds and veins.

Depending on the consistency of the sauce that we want to achieve, the tomatoes should be cooked longer, to achieve greater evaporation of liquid.

4. CARROT, LEEK AND CELERY

If the preparation is meant for soups or stews, the tomato and the pepper are used in many occasions, but also the carrot, the leek and the celery are other usual ingredients that can be used to achieve more flavor.

In the case of leek, only the white part is usually used (the stem), and in the case of celery, only the stem (since the leaves are quite bitter). It’s optional but advisable to slightly peel the celery stems. In this way, we get rid of the filaments which texture can be annoying and get stuck between our teeth.

The carrot has an interesting amount of natural sugars, which manages to balance the recipes when we use many vegetables with a certain degree of acidity.

5. SPICES

Salt and pepper are practically always present. Salt can be added at the beginning or later. The exception is when we cook legumes (chickpeas, lentils, etc), in which case it is added at the end, otherwise they will not be tender. Freshly ground pepper added at the end of cooking always gives an excellent touch to all preparations.

According to each recipe, other spices (cumin, ginger, paprika, cinnamon, etc.) can be fried together with the vegetables, always very briefly and stirring constantly. In this way, we enhance their aroma and flavor without allowing them to burn (which would turn them bitter).

6. GREEN LEAVES

Many green leaves such as parsley, basil or mint are always added at the end and without cooking, so that they preserve their properties. Instead, it’s possible to cook rosemary, thyme or sage in the recipe (usually stews, hotpots, etc) and then remove them at the end of cooking.

7. LASTLY, ADD THE MAIN INGREDIENT OF THE RECIPE

Normally, it’s advisable to sauté or stir-fry each ingredient, in order to extracts the maximum flavor and aroma from it. So this last step is not surprising.

When preparing a risotto or paella, brown the rice before adding the broth. Same with the pieces of meat if it is a stew, or the vegetables of a soup (mushrooms, asparagus, etc).

The temperature for cooking:

It is always advisable to sauté over medium or low heat. The higher the fire, the greater the probability of burning our ingredients. And the lower the heat, the better “caramelized” the vegetables.

When cooking tomato sauce, it’s only better to lower the heat but also cover the pot, since tomato can splash all over the kitchen when it has a lot of liquid.

Suitable utensils:

It is worth investing in a good non-stick pan, and protecting it from scratches or other damage by always using a wooden or silicone spatula to stir.

To chop the vegetables, a good sharp knife and a wide board are enough. The tomato, on the other hand, should be cut with a knife with teeth, precisely called “tomatero”.