{"id":55171,"date":"2023-08-22T13:56:34","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T17:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enrilemoine.com\/?p=55171"},"modified":"2023-09-30T22:48:40","modified_gmt":"2023-10-01T02:48:40","slug":"how-to-make-venezuelan-tomato-onion-sofrito","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enrilemoine.com\/en\/2023\/08\/22\/how-to-make-venezuelan-tomato-onion-sofrito\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Venezuelan Tomato & Onion Sofrito\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Venezuelan tomato and onion sofrito is an authentic flavor bomb that you can use for many recipes and will save you time in the kitchen. It’s all you need to make crostinis, eggs, lasagnas, soups, and you name it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tomato<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Note: Thanks to the Amazon Associates Program and other affiliate programs, I am compensated for products sold through the affiliate links in this post at no cost to the buyer.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why you will love this recipe?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You will love this sofrito not only because it’s delicious and super easy to make. But also because if you make it in advance and save it for future use, as I do, you’ll save a lot of time when you cook. Simple!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is sofrito?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Piled<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sofrito is a cooking method and a sauce base used in many different cuisines, particularly in Latin cuisine, including the Spanish and Italian cuisines. Sofrito comes from the Spanish verb sofre\u00edr<\/em>, which means to fry lightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Spanish and Latin American cuisines, sofrito is often a combination of aromatic ingredients cut into small pieces and slowly saut\u00e9ed or fried in cooking oil. Ingredients commonly include garlic, onion, bell peppers (usually green and red), and tomatoes. The specific mix can vary depending on the region or the dish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In my beloved Italian cuisine<\/a>, soffritto<\/em> (with two ‘f’s and two ‘t’s) refers to a similar technique, but the ingredients are typically finely diced carrots, celery, garlic, and onions saut\u00e9ed in olive oil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is often the base for many Italian sauces and dishes, such as Bolognese sauce<\/a>. These bases are commonly used to add depth of flavor to dishes such as soups and stews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Venezuelan sofrito<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Venezuelan<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sofrito is a key ingredient used as a flavorful base for many dishes in our Venezuelan cuisine<\/a>. Also known as guiso<\/em>, sofrito typically consists of garlic, onion, red bell pepper, aj\u00ed dulce<\/em><\/a> (a unique Venezuelan variety of tiny sweet peppers), and tomatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All those ingredients are saut\u00e9eed in vegetable oil until wilted. I remember my grandma Ligia using aceite onotado<\/em> (achiote oil) to make her sofritos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Five<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That is the classic sofrito we use to make carne mechada<\/em><\/a> (shredded beef), asado negro<\/em>, caraotas negras<\/em><\/a> (black beans soup), and so on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some variations include the addition of other ingredients like green onion and leek. This sofrito makes our flavorful hallaca<\/em> stew<\/a> or the delicious polvorosa de pollo<\/em> stew<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jars<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These ingredients are finely chopped, manually or in a food processor<\/a>, and then saut\u00e9ed in oil until they’re soft and aromatic. The quantities of each ingredient depend on the cook. There is no one sofrito recipe. Every household has a formula that passes from generation to generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes Venezuelan sofrito unique?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Venezuelan sofrito differs from other sofritos in Latin America and parts of the Caribbean because we don’t add aromatic herbs such as cilantro and culantro to the preparation: not all dishes require them. We add those aromatics (cilantro, parsley, bay leaf) during the cooking process of every dish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jars<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Puerto Rican sofrito<\/a>, a.k.a. reca\u00edto<\/em>, for example, is a culantro based mixture. Dominican sofrito<\/a>, a.k.a. saz\u00f3n<\/em>, also includes culantro and cilantro. Both are greenish, while Venezuelan sofrito is orange to redish.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our sofrito is more like the redish Colombian hogao<\/em>. In Colombia, once they cook their hogao, <\/em>they use it not only as a sofrito base but as a sauce or condiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Venezuelan tomato and onion sofrito and its many uses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a>
Eggs in a sofrito nest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another big difference between Venezuelan sofrito and reca\u00edto<\/em> from Puerto Rico or Dominican saz\u00f3n<\/em> is that we don’t make it in advance. We make our sofrito every time we cook. However, I’m making a big batch and preserving it in Mason jars to take advantage of the tomato season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today’s recipe is an extremely simple version of the traditional Venezuelan sofrito. Here I’m skipping the peppers, both the red bell pepper and the aj\u00ed dulce<\/em>. This is the sofrito I make to eat with bread, crostinis or to put in the layer when I make my roasted eggplant and tomato lasagna<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the<\/a>
Eggplant Lasagna with Tomato.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I find this sofrito particularly useful for breakfast to make perico<\/em><\/a> (Venezuelan scrambled eggs), fried eggs or sunny side eggs with sofrito, or eggs in a sofrito nest<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
Sofrito baked eggs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How long does sofrito last, and how to preserve it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This sofrito will last when saved in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. If you make a big batch, you can freeze it in small portions in an ice cube tray, and once frozen, put the cubes in plastic bags. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love preserving my sofrito in 6-ounce Mason jars<\/a> and processing them in hot water until they are vacuum-sealed.  This a great way to preserve food, and the best part is that you save a lot of space in your freezer, but when you open the sealed jar, it tastes like you just made the sofrito. This is the canning technique I show you in the recipe card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy to make Venezuelan tomato sofrito recipe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The following is my recipe. Remember that I’m skipping the red bell pepper and the aj\u00ed dulce for this particular tomato sofrito.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tomato<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for subscribing to my Youtube channel<\/a> and visiting my Amazon shop<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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