How to Make Puerto Rican Sofrito

What you'll learn

Sofrito is the flavor foundation of Puerto Rican cooking — recao, garlic, onion, and bell pepper, blended into a paste that powers arroz con gandules, beans, pollo guisado, and just about everything else.

• The four ingredients that make real sofrito.
• How to blend it into a smooth flavor base.
• The caldero method — toast your sofrito until the garlic turns golden.
• Coat every grain of rice, add broth, cover, and simmer.

Transcript

1. Welcome to Sofrito Studio — Boricua cooking made simple.
2. Today we're making sofrito, the base of every Puerto Rican dish.
3. Start with recao, garlic, onion, and bell pepper.
4. Blend until smooth — that's your flavor foundation.
5. Heat olive oil in your caldero and add two spoonfuls.
6. Listen to that sizzle — that's flavor building.
7. Stir for two minutes until the garlic turns golden.
8. Now add your rice — one cup, rinsed and ready.
9. Stir to coat every grain in that sofrito goodness.
10. Add broth, cover, and simmer — dinner in 30 minutes.

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