The word "sofrito" comes from the Spanish language and meaning "to softly cook," as in sauteing or stir-frying. It's a method brought to the Caribbean and Latin America by Spanish colonists beginning in the late 1400s.

 

Sofrito, on the other hand, is much older. The technique is first mentioned as "sofregit" in the "Libre de Sent Sov," published in 1324. Sofrito has been an ingredient and a technique in Catalan cuisine since medieval times, according to this cookbook from the Catalan region of Spain, which is one of the oldest in Europe.

 

The derivation of the Catalan word "sofregit," which derives from the verb sofrefir, which meaning to gently fry or under-fried, also has a link to sofrito. The Catalan concept of softly frying means cooking slowly over a low flame.

 

The first sofregit was simply an onion and/or leek confit with bacon or salt pork added if available. Herbs and other vegetables were eventually added to the mix. Tomatoes were not incorporated into sofregit until Columbus brought them back from the Americas in the early 16th century. Tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, paprika, and olive oil are the basic ingredients in today's Spanish sofrito.

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