Sofrito with Kale

Sofrito is quintessentially the most important ingredient in Latin cooking.  We use it to season, to marinade, to give everything that Latin zing.  Just like Italians have tomato sauce Latinos have their sofrito.  It is the foundation used to flavor everything under the sun.  I have noticed that the most prevalent type of sofrito in the United States is what Puerto Ricans call recaito.  You could pretty much find it in any grocery store that sells Goya products.  This is not the only type of sofrito available though.  Many other Latin American countries create their own type of sofrito to which they add spices that are native to their regions. I know Colombians call it hogao or guiso and it’s made by sauteing diced scallions with chopped tomatoes in oil.  We also add a touch of azafrán or saffron for coloring.  In this sense it differs greatly from Puerto Rican sofrito which is not sautéed in oil but made in a blender and refrigerated fresh. 

I have already demonstrated how to make guiso in my post about Tofu Perico, so this is my attempt at making a version of the Puerto Rican recaito but with a twist.  Lately I've been obsessed with kale, so I decided to add kale to my version so that it incorporates all of the healthy vitamins and nutrients that kale boasts.  I can tell you right now that you won’t even notice a difference.  To me it was excellent.  If not kale, you could also add beets if you want or maybe swish chard.  Just be careful how much you add.  Too much kale and it might be too bitter, just like too many onions might be too overwhelming.  I also added a stem of celery and a whole carrot to make it that much healthier.  What I forgot to add was some heat.  In the future I'm going to try adding a bit of jalapeño or some other type of hot pepper.

I really hope you enjoy making this version or your own version of sofrito with whatever ingredients you have on hand. It's really always about making it your own and doing the best with what you already have.

Buen Provecho! =)

Ingredients

1 half green bell pepper and 1 half red bell pepper seeded and chopped
5 small sweet peppers of various colors seeded and chopped
5 small plum tomatoes, skins removed
2 small yellow onions cut into quarters
5 scallions chopped in half
3 heads of roasted garlic or regular garlic
One stem of celery chopped
One carrot chopped
A spring of mint (could use some other herb like cilantro)
One large leaf of kale
A dash of extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• This is the easiest recipe, you just dump all of the ingredients into a blender and you are done.  Just make sure you coarsely chop all of the ingredients before putting in the blender. 
• If everything doesn’t fit in the blender try doing a portion of the ingredients and then gradually adding everything until everything is blended together.
• To preserve the sofrito simply leave the small portion you are going to use right away in a container in the refrigerator.  You can store smaller ready to use portions in the freezer.  Another way to preserve them in the freezer is to store the sofrito in an ice cube tray.  You can take out as many sofrito cubes as you want whenever you are ready to use them.

TIP – To remove the tomato skins simply cut a small cross on the bottom and drop on boiling water.  Leave them for a minute or so and then drop them in a bath of ice.  You can peel the skin right away, remove the seeds and then add to the blender along with the rest of the ingredients.

Kale & Beet Leaf Chips

This past Tuesday I visited the local farmer's market by my job and as always I saw a lot of veggies I haven't dared to try.  One of the workers in the Migliorelli Farm stand recommended that I try their kale.  He boasted that it was the best kale you could find in NY.  So I had to give it a try.  (To find a farmer's market near you simply search online, or visit GrowNYC for a listing of NYC farmer's markets.)

I went ahead and bought a head of kale for $3.50 as well as one bunch of beets with its leaves for $3. The farmer said that if I had never tried kale before, to try making kale chips.  He said buying them in a place like Whole Foods will cost you around $8 which is ridiculous expensive, plus they are easy enough to do on your own.  Though you definitely get a lot of kale for the price you definitely may want to save your kale to make something other than chips.  Saute the kale with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper, or a dash of low sodium soy sauce, and you can use them as a side dish to any meal.  

Even though this is my first time trying kale, I had heard the rumors that it was supposed to be amazing for you.  I think I need to personally introduce my aunt and mom to this.  Check out organicauthority.com's article on the 7 Reasons Kale is the New Beef for more information about this amazing leafy green.  You will  definitely see this ingredient popping up around this blog more often.  It's anti-inflammatory and claims to have more iron and calcium per calorie than your favorite choice of beef or milk.

Beet leaves may not be quite the superstars like kale, but they are packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals that beat most of the other junk food we eat.  Check out livestrong.com for more information on the Nutritional Content of Beet Leaves.  The reason I picked beet leaves for this recipe was one because they looked so pretty, and two because it would have been a crime to toss them out and only use the beets.  Plus, I remember my mom telling me that whenever she bought beets with the leaves she would use the leaves to make vegetable soup.  I was taught not to throw away food, and if it's edible, then why not make something with it.  So this is me making good use of them but instead of soup I'm making chips.

I really hope you enjoy making them as much as I know you will enjoy eating them.  Make them as snacks or as appetizers, either way they will be one of the healthiest snacks you will ever enjoy.

TIP 1 - Preparation for making these chips is fairly simple, just use your imagination on the seasonings and go for it!  I made one batch with parmesan cheese and another with Cajun seasoning and they were to die for!!


Kale & Beet Leaf Chips
1 head of Kale
Leaves of one bunch of beets
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Sea salt and Pepper to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons of seasoning, depends on the seasoning used.

Seasonings:

• Parmesan Cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano di Parma is the best!!)
• Cajun Seasoning
• Adobo Seasoning
• Minced Garlic and/or Ginger with a few drops of Soy Sauce

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
• Wash and dry the kale leaves.  You can cut out the ribs of the kale.  I happen to like the ribs so I kept them on.  Remove, wash and dry the leaves from the beets.  Mix ingredients in a bowl and make sure everything is well coated.  
• Place leaves on top of an aluminum sheet pan. Try to give each leaf its own space on the pan so that they dry quicker.  Placing them on top of one another delays the process and only cooks the leaves instead of making them crispy.
• Check back after 5 minutes then turn them.  Wait 5 more minutes and remove them from the oven.  If you think they are still not crispy enough, leave them in for a couple of more minutes and then remove.
• Try to use all of the racks in the oven so that you can make as many as you can in one batch.

TIP 2 - I like to use any type of vinegar, could be apple cider vinegar if that is all you have, to wash vegetables and leaves.  I add a tablespoon of vinegar to a large glass of water and then use the water to wash the leaves making sure they all get a good coating.  Then I let them marinate with the vinegar water for two to three minutes before washing off the vinegar and patting them dry.  You can also use baking soda if you don't have any vinegar. 

TIP 3 - Don't leave them in the oven for too long, otherwise you'll get chips that look brown (see image below).  You want them to still look green when you take them out of the oven.  I found that the batch below turned out dryer and they didn't preserve the taste of the parmesan cheese which I used as my seasoning ingredient.