Every nationality has a unique food culture that ignites nostalgia when remembered. American cuisine is designed to remind us of our roots while creating something new and uniquely different out of our many differences. What comes to mind when “American” food is discussed? Cheese burghers and French fries, ice-cream or root beer floats, down home southern cooking, maybe even fast food? These are all part of our food culture but if you look at the history and the original settlers, you will see the influence from Europe, Africa, Asia, and especially the Native American flavors that have all become this wonderful melting pot of the western world.

A common factor in delicious soups, stews, chili, or even served as a party dip is an old technique that has been carried on through the years known as sofrito. Typically sofrito consists of onions, bell peppers, garlic, tomato paste, cilantro or oregano. Variations of sofrito can be found in Italy known as soffritto and even epis in Haiti. In the Dominican-Republic it is often referred to as sazón. Portugal also enjoys this flavor base but they called it refogado. The Choctaw and other smaller local tribes used this seasoning method in a dish, in modern day Louisiana, now referred to as gumbo. No matter how different the variation or unique the name, the flavor of sofrito has stood the test of time and is now a common bond between many different nations.

This is just one example of how one concept brought over from another country has made its evolution into American cuisine. Below is a recipe on how to make your own sofrito!

You’ll need:

-2 medium green peppers, seeds removed

-2 large tomatoes (or 3 Tbls tomato paste)

-2 medium onions, peeled

-1 head of garlic, peeled

-1 bunch cilantro leaves (if you prefer a more traditional sofrito, you can substitute with fil’e power which is sassafras leaves)

-1/2 bunch parsley leaves

Directions:

Finely chop all vegetables, sauté onions until soft, add peppers, garlic and tomatoes (or tomato paste). Sauté for one minute; then add cilantro (or fil’e power).

(if you prefer a smooth sauce, spoon mixture into blender and puree)

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