One of the secrets to many delicious Puerto Rican dishes is a Puerto Rican sauce called Recaito and a Cuban sauce called Sofrito. Recaito is one of the main bases to many traditional Puerto Rican and Latin meals, soups, stews – you name it. There are several different variations but today I’m going to tell you about my two favorites!
Traditional Recaito
This recipe makes one quart and only takes about 15 minutes to make.
2 Medium Green Peppers
2 Medium Spanish Onions
1 Head of Garlic
1 Bunch Culantro Leaf (Culantro and cilantro are different herbs with a similar flavor; culantro is the stronger, more potent of the two.)
6 Sweet Chile Peppers
Directions:
Peel the onion and garlic, remove the seeds from the peppers (remember to save them), and chop all of the ingredients. You can also use a blender or a food processor to puree all of the ingredients.
Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Use within 5 days.
What I’m not going to store in the refrigerator I like to freeze into separate cooking portions. I use an ice cube tray for the shape, and once it’s all frozen I pop the cubes out and store in an airtight container in the freezer.
This second recipe is not exactly a Puerto Rican traditional sauce; it is more typical in Cuban dishes, but I love this version. This one is red in color because of the tomatoes.
Sofrito / Red Sauce
This recipe will make 4 cups of sofrito and takes about 20 minutes of cooking time.
5-6 Large Roma Tomatoes
1 Sweet Pepper
1 Yellow Onion
2 Garlic Cloves
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1-1 ½ Teaspoons Sweet Paprika
Salt & Pepper To Taste
Clean and seed the garlic, onion, and peppers (again, remember to save your seeds!). In a large cast iron skillet heat the olive oil and sauté the onions until translucent, adjusting the heat if necessary.
Add the peppers and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add the garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Finally, toss in the tomatoes and the seasonings, mix well, and cook it down for about 10-15 minutes – long enough to boil down some of the juices from the tomatoes and also to allow the flavors to blend.
This sauce can be used warm with chips or to smother dishes. To store it, allow the sofrito to cool down and store just as you did the recaito. These sauces make a great spin on meatloaf and can be added to so many dishes, Latin or not. Now that the secret’s out, go ahead and try it!
