Sofrito is a meat (lamb, beef, chicken) stew sautéed with potatoes, garlic,

turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast ...

, and

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are r ...

and simmered in a small volume of water or stock with an acidic agent (sour plum juice, vinegar, or lemon juice), or braised with all these ingredients without prior

sautéing Sautéing or sauteing (, ; in reference to tossing while cooking) is a method of cooking that uses a relatively small amount of oil or fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Various sauté methods exist. Description Ingredients for ...

. The second method can also be used in cooking veal, calves' brains or fish. The method of cooking makes this dish more similar to Hungarian chicken paprikash or Moroccan

tagine A tajine or tagine ( ar, طاجين) is a North African dish, named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. It is also called or . Etymology The Arabic () is derived from the Berber 'shallow earthen pot', from Ancient Greek () 'f ...

than to the Italian, Spanish, or Latin American

sofrito (Spanish, ), (Catalan), ( Italian, ), or ( Portuguese, ) is a basic preparation in Mediterranean, Latin American, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese cooking. It typically consists of aromatic ingredients cut into small pieces and sautée ...

. It is mostly common to eat it with chicken, although other types of meat are sometimes also used. It originated in Sephardi Jewish communities that were expelled from Spain, and was eaten traditionally by them in regions including the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, the

Levant The Levant () is an approximation, approximate historical geography, historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology an ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

. Recipes for sofrito vary widely.

Claudia Roden Claudia Roden (née Douek; born 1936) is an Egyptian-born British cookbook writer and cultural anthropologist of Sephardi/ Mizrahi descent. She is best known as the author of Middle Eastern cookbooks including ''A Book of Middle Eastern Food'', ...

's recipe calls for sunflower oil, lemon juice, and small amounts of turmeric, white pepper, and cardamom and little else, differentiating it from other recipes that incorporate paprika, onions, and garlic, or different spice mixes like

baharat ( ar, بَهَارَات; 'spices') is a spice mixture or blend used in Middle Eastern cuisines. The mixture of finely ground spices is often used to season lamb and mutton, fish, chicken, beef, and soups, and may also be used as a condiment. ...

. Roden's recipe may be more typical of Egyptian styles of sofrito, which are subtler, "with a bit of allspice and/or cardamom". Today it is widely eaten in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

References

Sephardi Jewish cuisine Israeli cuisine Meat stews Chicken dishes {{Food-stub

See also

References