The word Sofregit comes from the Catalan verb sofregir, meaning to “underfry” or fry lightly. In essence, you are sauteing these aromatics under low heat for an extended amount of time. This brings out wonderful depth and aroma to the sauce, which then intensifies any dish to which you add this yummy base.
I used this sofregit to make the Spanish Catalan dish – Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes with allioli as part of the Daring Cooks challenge in August 2009.
Here’s how to make it!
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 5 big red ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 2 small onions, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped (optional)
- 4 or 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 cup of button or Portobello mushrooms, chopped (optional)
- 1 Bay leaf
- Salt
- Touch of ground cumin
- Touch of dried oregano
Directions:
- Put all the ingredients together in a frying pan and sauté slowly until all vegetables are soft.
- Taste and salt if necessary (maybe it’s not!)
I cooked it over medium-low heat for about an hour until the vegetables softened and gave off water to form this delicious soupy goodness.
I then added this entire pot of sofregit to the rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes dish I was making for the Daring Cook’s Challenge.
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Your recipes are so good!I love the photos and this sauce,together with the allioli is just wonderful!Im glad I followed you from the foodieblogroll,or I’ll never get to see these wonderful creations.I’d love to guide our readers to your site if you won’t mind.Just add your choice of foodista widget to this post and it’s all set, Thanks!
Looks good! One question … what kind of “pepper” are we talking about? bell?
little miss possible – yes, I believe they are green bell peppers. I personally did not add green bell peppers just because I didn’t have any on hand.