The Traditional Puerto Rican Recipes That Brought Me Back to My Late Abuela's Kitchen

Behind (almost) every delicious Puerto Rican dish there is a green, herbaceous sauce called sofrito. While you can find jars of premade sofrito in most grocery stores, it is pretty easy to make at home. My abuela's sofrito calls for handfuls of cilantro and culantro (cilantro's flavorful cousin), sweet chili peppers (ají dulce), bell peppers, onions, and garlic. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor, and within seconds, you have the base seasoning for almost any Puerto Rican dish your heart (and taste buds) could ask for.