Grandmothers are the wizards of cooking in my opinion. They have years upon years of experience, and have mastered trial and error. My abuelita (may she rest in peace) was not only the matriarch to my father's side of the family, but she knew her way around a kitchen. She perfected each and every recipe from sheer memory, and kept the door to her kitchen a revolving for anyone that came in for a visit. Let's face it, if you were at her house, there was a 99.9% chance she would sit you down at her kitchen dinette and make sure you were fed.
So, it's no wonder I wanted to learn her ways. I remember the day like it was yesterday, that I followed her around her kitchen as I scribbled ingredients and instructions as fast I could. Her explanation of "a dash of this" , or "about a teaspoon of that", made for quick action on my part.
One of her most useful and most frequently used recipes that I still use (even with my diet), is her recipe for sofrito. No, I'm not referring to the Mexican-style tofu at Chiptole, but a recipe for a seasoning that can be used in just about any dish you could want. I modified her recipe a bit, but it definitely still tastes just like grandma used to make.
Check out the recipe below and feel free to use in soups, rice dishes, quinoa dishes, spaghetti sauce, tacos mixtures, and other recipes that need a bit of flavor. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 green pepper (diced)
1 medium yellow onion (chopped small)
3 tbsp. minced garlic
1 cup fresh cilantro (minced)
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 fresh squeezed lime
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. jalapeno (diced small)-Optional
Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pulse until mixed into a green, mush-like texture. I freeze mine in ice cube trays, which equals about 1 tbsp. Use as many cubes as you would like for cooking and marinating whatever you want.