Louise's Practical Sofrito

Prep Time: A few hours
Makes: About 10 quarts

This is my mother-in-law's recipe. It is so much tastier than the sofrito sold in stores.

In a large pot over medium heat, saute:
1/2 lb. fatback, washed and diced*
1/2 lb. lean cured ham, washed and diced

In the meantime, finely chop in a food processor or blender:
2 lbs. onions
2 lbs. long green peppers (also called Italian frying peppers)
1/2 lb. sweet chili peppers (ajias)**
1/2 lb. garlic
30 leaves fresh recao (if unavailable, use cilantro)**
1 jar (11.5 oz) pimientos (roasted red peppers) with juice
1 jar (10 oz) stuffed green olives with juice
1/2 jar (2 1/4 oz) small capers

Pour into sauteed ham mixture.

Add:
3 cans (8 ozs each) tomato sauce (use Goya® Spanish-style, if available)
3 envelopes Sazón Goya® con Culantro y Achiote
3 cubitos de jamón (ham bouillon)
3 cubitos de culantro (cilantro bouillon)

Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool thoroughly. Measure into 1/2 cup amounts and freeze for later use.

*Fatback is usually found near the bacon in the supermarket. You can substitute salt pork if you can't find fatback.

**We found the recao and ajias in a large farmer's market last summer. We found everything else in the supermarket. I don't think we used the cubitos de culantro, though.