Sofrito

Sofrito is a term I heard recently and one that I have adopted as the secret to all good soups, casseroles and chowders. If you live near a Waitrose supermarket, and can afford it, you can buy sofrito already prepared; otherwise coarsely chop an onion, a couple of carrots and 2-3 celery sticks and gently fry in oil until softened. You can season the chopped vegetables at this stage with salt and pepper, and with any other herbs or spices dependent on what you are cooking. I have used turmeric with the vegetables when making a fish chowder or perhaps thyme with a chicken casserole. The equivalent in eastern cookery would be the garlic, ginger and onion pastes use in curries or the hot chilli, galengal and lemongrass of a Thai dish. When making risotto replace the carrot with garlic and with a jumbalaya try green peppers with the onion and celery. Once the base sofrito is cooked through you can the stock and main ingredient of the dish you are cooking. I plan to start putting some of my favorite recipes on a new website at www.cookwithdad.co.uk , so look out for more ideas of how to use sofrito in your cooking.