Spanish Sofrito with Slow-Cooked Onion, Peppers and Tomato
Inspired by techniques from Serious Eats.
A deeply savoury base of slow-cooked onion, peppers and tomato, cooked down until sweet, jammy and intensely flavoured.
Based on the listed ingredients, none of the 14 major EU allergens. Always check product labels.
Method
- 1
Heat. Heat 120 ml olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium-high until shimmering.
- 2
Soften. Add the garlic, onions, both peppers and leek with a pinch of the salt, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables release their liquid and begin to colour on the base, about 10 min.
- 3
Caramelise. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring and scraping often, until very soft, sweet and deep golden, about 45 min.
- 4
Add. Stir in the grated tomato, bay leaf, paprika and remaining salt, and cook until the tomato has reduced to a thick, jammy paste, 10-15 min.
- 5
Finish. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 min, then remove the bay leaf.
- 6
Cool. Leave to cool before storing.
Storage
Once cooled, keep covered in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze in portions for longer storage. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Source of fibre: 1.8 g fibre per 100 kcal (needs ≥ 1.5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 38 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
0 g per serving
0 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- chopping board
- knife
- box grater
- heavy saucepan (about 3 litres)
- wooden spoon
- airtight container
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 99 kcal |
| Protein | 1.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 8.8 g |
| of which sugars | 3.9 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 7 g |
| of which saturates | 1 g |
| Fibre | 1.8 g |
| Salt | 0.38 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1.2 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
