Sofrito: A Foundational Ingredient For A Beautiful Chicken Soup

If you're looking for a way to add some extra flavor to chicken noodle soup, making some homemade sofrito might just be your answer. The seasoning blend, at its base, is made from sautéed onions and garlic. Other ingredients — like tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, and powdered seasonings — can also be added. 

Using a blender or food processor, the sofrito ingredients should be blended down until smooth.Then, while working on the base of your soup, the sofrito can be added in two ways. First, you can combine the blend with the pasta. This allows the pasta to absorb the taste of the veggie blend as it cooks — similar to how it may take on a new taste when cooked in chicken broth. Alternatively, sofrito can help bulk up the broth and add a little more flavor when mixed in. When your chicken cooks in this seasoned broth, it can take on the taste of the pureed veggie blend, too.

Though it may be a deviation from your standard chicken noodle soup, asopao de pollo, a Puerto Rican version, uses sofrito as a flavoring. The hearty soup combines chicken, rice, broth, and seasonings into one pot. As the chicken and rice cook in the blend, the sofrito enhances the hearty flavor of the dish.

Although sofrito can make for a flavorful addition to your base, it can also be used to season the protein separately, too. Before adding your chicken to the soup, you can coat it with the sofrito and allow it to marinate for a bit in the fridge.

Allowing proteins to marinate in the sofrito can be beneficial for other cooking methods, too. If you want to grill up some chicken, pork, or steak, simply let your protein of choice rest in the sauce for a few hours. Then, pull the meat out and give it a quick shake so it won't be dripping. Grill or bake your meat as usual, then serve. 

If you prefer plant-based protein, sofrito can amp up the taste of tofu, too. Back in 2013, the restaurant chain Chipotle began introducing "sofritas" to its restaurant menus. The protein option is made from broken-up extra-firm tofu chunks, which absorb the flavors of the sofrito. To mix up your own at home, you can simply crumble up a block and mix it in with the sauce.

Although sofrito starts off with the standard garlic-onion mix, there are a few variations of the blend, depending on where the recipe originates. These differences can make for a slightly different-tasting dish. So if you're mixing up a pot of soup, you'll want to choose a variation that will lend complementary flavors to the soup's other ingredients. In Puerto Rico, you might be more likely to find a blend that uses peppers and cilantro. There, sofrito (which can also be called recaito) serves as a flavor base for the country's national dish of arroz con gandules — pigeon peas and pork in rice. If you're curious about Puerto Rican cuisine, it's an essential dish to try.

In Mexico, however, sofrito is more commonly made by adding tomatoes to the onions and garlic. The blend can be flavored with seasonings like chile powder or paprika. In Mexico's Yucatan region, though, habaneros may appear in the sauce. In the Dominican Republic, vinegar and annatto may contribute to the taste and appearance of the sofrito. Cuban varieties might add in red bell peppers — which are more nutritionally dense than yellow or green varieties — and a little bit of protein in the form of ham or bacon. The next time you mix up a pot of chicken noodle soup, don't be afraid to throw in a little sofrito. The seasoning blend is sure to make your pot extra delicious, and full of Latin flavor.