Sofrito – The pearl of the Mediterranean

Sofrito, soffritto, sofregit, refogado or under-fried are all synonyms of patience. So go out, do a bit of yoga or meditation and when you calm down keep reading.

The sofrito is an essential sauce of the Mediterranean cuisine. It’s the base for a fideuà, paella, many rice dishes, sauces for pasta, meat, etc. There are many ingredients that can be added but don’t fucking complicate it, let’s start with the basics:

1. Peel and grate some tomatoes, dice the same amount of onions and some garlic cloves. A good ratio is 3-3-2 (3 tomatoes, 3 onions, 2 garlic cloves). 
2. In a hot pan with a thin layer of oil, turn the heat down and add the onion and a pinch of salt. 
3. NOW STOP YOUR THINKING AND READ CAREFULLY! Ideally cook it for 45 min or more, yeah, I know, you’re too busy to spend all that time with an onion… Well, that’s why it’s called under-fried because the onion needs time to caramelise and get soft without burning. If you see that the onion is starting to get burned lower the heat and if that’s not possible, add a bit of water to the pan. 
4. About 30 minutes later we add the garlic, mix and let it cook. 
5. Once the onion is fully caramelised we add the grated tomato and let it cook for 25 – 30 minutes more. 
6. That’s it! Easy, right?? That’s because COOKING IS FUCKING EASY! I’m not lying, you just need some fucking patience! 

There are as many variations as bad cooks in the world, but some of the most common things to add are: extra garlic, parsley, milk or cream (great for tomato sauces like bolognese), white whine, cognac, ground almonds, pine nuts, bread and a lot more if you do a search -just please don’t ruin this masterpiece of the Mediterranean cuisine!

A FUCKING TIP: If patience is not your strongest value, cook a fucking huge pan and once cooked and cold freeze it in small portions so you can reuse it later.

The Patient Chef 🧘‍♀️🧘‍♂️