Oi Gente!!

This easy refogado recipe will change your life and the way you cook. This practical sofrito-like paste made with garlic, onion and olive oil, will come in handy in your kitchen everyday when you’re making anything from salad dressings, to marinades, stews and so much more! Read on through to see how to make, how to store and how just one batch of this 3-ingredient Brazilian sofrito can help you infuse so much flavor into your everyday recipes. – recipe makes 2 cups.

About Refogado

Have you noticed that most Brazilian recipes start with sautéing, or “lightly frying” garlic and/or onion in some sort of fat? That’s what we call refogado. And the Brazilian refogado is to Brazilian cuisine what sofrito is for Spanish, Italian, and a number of Latin American and Caribbean cuisines (any Puerto Ricans or Cubans out here!!?) – it serves as the foundation of a dish.

The refogado, is pretty much the base of most Brazilian dishes, such as our everyday rice and beans, vegetables like collard greens, other sides like farofa, and more! It’s actually hard to think about a Brazilian dish that doesn’t involve a refogado.

All you need to make a refogado for any dish is your fat of choice, diced onions and minced garlic. And there. Done!

Why I love this recipe

Yes, yes, yes, a typical refogado with diced onions and minced garlic isn’t hard at all to make. But, if you know you’re going to use this combination for pretty much every dish you make, then why not cut the prep and figure out an easier way?

My mom taught me this trick to save time on the dicing and cutting, which is to just prepare a paste with our refogado ingredients, like a sofrito! A little work up front, and a lot of flavor packed up in a jar of magic, ready whenever you need it!

I mean, raise your hand if you sometimes get home and the thought of having to do any prep before you make dinner actually hurts? I get you. This one is for you, amigos!

I hope you find Brazilian sofrito as useful as I do!

Bom Apetite!

Beijinhos xoxo

 What is sofrito? 

Sofrito is a paste, or sauce, largely used in Spanish, Italian, and a number of Latin American and Caribbean cuisines, typically made with aromatic ingredients that are sauteed in fat, and serve as the flavor base of a dish.

But, no sofrito, or refogado, is created equal.

Each culture, region, family has their own combination of ingredients that’s essential to their sofrito recipe. Some people add tomatoes, some add peppers, some add spices, and others add herbs. All are different, but have one thing in common – Lotsa flavor!

Brazilian Sofrito Ingredients

In Brazil, the most common combination for a basic refogado is minced garlic and diced onion, and this form of refogado essentially serves as the base of the Brazilian food flavor profile. It’s our classic aromatic combo.

To make this easy sofrito recipe you’ll need:

• 1 small onion – if your onion is too big, just use half of it.  
• 1 cup of garlic – I usually just buy these pre-peeled garlic bags, which are air peeled and contain no other ingredient. This is really important! Other pre-peeled garlic may sometimes contain water, or citric acid, or other ingredients that alter the flavor of the garlic. Don’t use those, meus amigos! If you’re planning on using whole heads of garlic, you’ll need about 3 of those, all peeled.
• 1/2 cup of olive oil – we don’t need a lot of olive oil here. We just need enough to help the garlic and the onion blend together into a paste. 

How to make sofrito

To make your Brazilian sofrito, just add all the ingredients to a food processor, or blender, and pulse, pulse, pulse until you have a chunky paste, of the same texture of minced garlic. 

That’s it!

How to use your Brazilian sofrito

My recipes will always tell you how much Brazilian sofrito you should be using per recipe. But, you can also use Brazilian sofrito in literally every recipe you make from now on! Just keep in mind that 1 clove of garlic should equal about a 1/2 tsp of Brazilian sofrito.

Sauteing and Stir-frying are the most common uses for Brazilian sofrito. Whenever a recipe calls for sauteing garlic and/or onion, you’re all set. Just scoop some Brazilian sofrito into the hot fat and move right along. 

But that’s not all, here are some other things you can make with Brazilian sofrito:

• Marinades
• Salad dressings
• Sauces
• Grilling
• Roasts
• and seriously anything!

How to store Brazilian sofrito

Storing Brazilian sofrito is just as easy as making it! Just follow these guidelines and you’ll always have a fresh batch on hand to use. 

• Mason jars –  When I make a fresh batch of Brazilian sofrito, I use a portion of it to fill an 8oz wide mouth mason jar that I keep in my fridge for about 5 days. 
• Ice trays – Whatever is left of my batch goes into silicone ice trays with lids like this one, or an easy release kind like this one, also with lid. I fill each compartment with about a tablespoon of sofrito, cover with the lid, and off to the freezer it goes, where it can stay for up to 3 months. If your silicone ice tray doesn’t have a lid, just put it in a ziplock bag. The best part? No need to defrost the little frozen “sofrito bombs”. Just add them frozen to the pan and they will defrost with the heat of the pan!

Enjoy cooking with Brazilian Sofrito!

Bom Apetite!

Beijinhos xoxo

Here are a handful of recipes using Sofrito to get you started. But, remember, you can add it to pretty much every recipe!

• Brazilian Rice
• Brazilian Black Beans Recipe
• Farofa – Brazilian Toasted Cassava Flour Recipe
• Brazilian Collard Greens with Bacon

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