My Basic Sofrito
Prep Time
60 minutes
Number of Servings
Serves 4
Ingredients
  • 1 small tomato
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • Salt
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika)
  • Saffron
Directions
  1. Cut tomato in half and, skin side out, grate using a coarse metal grater over a bowl to catch pulp. Discard skin, and set pulp aside. 
  2. In a heated pan or cazuela, sauté onion lightly seasoned with salt in a glug of oil until it begins to caramelize, which will take about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add garlic—whole, chopped, or best of all, crushed, because studies show that crushing garlic and allowing it to stand for 10 minutes before cooking enhances anticancer properties. Add tomato pulp, another glug of oil, and a touch more salt, stirring constantly. 
  3. Continue to sauté until tomatoes break down and meld with onions, about 25 to 30 minutes. Adjust salt. A teaspoon of pimentón can also be added at this point. Stir gently and cook a few minutes more, making sure to crumble a few saffron threads into sofrito during final minutes of cooking. A good sofrito takes about an hour, which activates the protective synergy of the antioxidant foods in the mixture.