Sofrito is a flavor base of herbs and aromatics used in Latin cooking, much like a French mirepoix or the Cajun holy trinity. While there are many versions of Sofrito, this recipe most resembles one found in Puerto Rican cooking also known as recaito.

Sofrito is the foundation for dishes like Arrow Con Pollo (Latin Chicken & Rice), soups, stews and braises. Simply stirred into white rice will elevate the flavors. It’s great to have on hand to enhance the flavor of so many dishes.

Sofrito Ingredients

Culantro

The one ingredient that is sometimes difficult to locate is Culantro. Culantro is an herb, similar in taste to cilantro but quite different in appearance. Culantro leaves are long with ruffled edges. It has a deeper more pungent flavor than cilantro. It also holds up much better when cooked.

I have no problem locating it at our International market. Or you can try an Asian market under the name of ngo gai (Vietnamese). If you can’t locate culantro, fresh cilantro is your best substitute but double the volume called for in the recipe.

Peppers

For the peppers, I use green bell pepper and cubanelle peppers. Aji dulces (sweet peppers found in Latin-America) are also a common ingredient.

Onions & Garlic

I used both red onion and white onion, as well as garlic cloves.

The Process

Rough chop the ingredients then add to a food processor or high-powered blender. Blend until mostly smooth.

When ready to use, Sofrito is typically sauteed in oil to begin the recipe. You can store Sofrito in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze it for up to 6 months.

Sofrito Variations

As mentioned above, a sofrito is to Latin cooking what a mirepoix is to French cooking or the holy trinity is to Cajun or Creole cooking. There is also a Spanish sofrito which also contains peppers and onions, but also includes tomatoes or tomato paste, as well as paprika.

Mastering a Simple Sofrito Recipe opens the doors to a wonderful array of recipes!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Simple Sofrito Recipe

Sofrito is a flavor base of aromatics used in Latin cooking, much like a French mirepoix or the Cajun holy trinity.

Cuisine Latin-American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium white onion large dice
• 1 small red onion large dice
• 1 green bell pepper large dice
• 2 cubanelle peppers large dice
• 6 cloves garlic
• 6 culantro leaves
• 1 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until mostly smooth. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 6 months.

The post Simple Sofrito Recipe appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

When you have family from New Orleans come into town during Crawfish season, it can only mean one thing!

We’re having a Crawfish Boil!!

And what a glorious boil we had.

But in the end, that 40 pound sack of crawfish was more than we could eat in one sitting and that’s how Crawfish Étouffée came to be.

The Crawfish Boil

I’m no expert on Crawfish boils, I’ll leave that to my husband’s side of the family.

But I have learned that there’s a system and precise timing and incredible layers of flavor building in that gigantic pot!

• Start with a rolling boil of crawfish boil seasoning
• Add in the potatoes
• Followed by heads of garlic, celery, onions and lots of lemons
• Then add the corn on the cob, mushrooms and then finally the crawfish
• Cook the crawfish for 5 minutes
• Extinguish the flame and allow the pot to rest while the mixture soaks in the spicy seasonings
• If I recall correctly our soak was 20 minutes.

We all sat (or stood – apparently that’s a crawfish boil thing too) around our paper lined table peeling and eating and laughing and enjoying the first chance to be together in over a year.

The last time we saw this NOLA crew was at Mardi Gras 2020, just before covid sent us into lockdown.

It was a bit like a scene from Forest Gump!

We sat around the table peeling the last mountain of tiny shellfish trying to decide what ‘crawfish’ dish we would make the next day.

So many choices, but looking into the beautiful bowlful of tail meat it was declared, we shall make Crawfish Étouffée.

The Crawfish Étouffée

We read dozens of étouffée recipes, including several in Nick’s beloved “Talk About Good” cookbook that belonged to his grandmother.

In the end we incorporated a little of this and a little of that to come up with our own version of Crawfish Étouffée.

The Process

Like many Cajun or Creole dishes you begin with a roux made with flour and fat.

Traditionally Cajun and Creole roux is made with oil which allows it to cook longer developing the deep rich color. Because I wanted to keep this dish ‘lighter’ I opted for butter which is used in the French version.

Our target was ‘peanut butter’ color and if roux came in a dozen shades we’d be somewhere near the middle.

Making a roux takes patience and a good stirring arm. It’s meant to be a slow process to allow the incredible flavor to build. We used 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup of butter and ours took about 15 minutes, cooking over low heat.

Meanwhile (aka while Nick stirred the roux), I sautéed the Holy Trinity, equal parts of diced celery, onion, and green bell pepper – we used one cup of each and 2 cloves of chopped garlic.

Recipe note: to all my cajun family and friends please don’t scold me, but I don’t like green bell peppers and more importantly they don’t like me. So I replaced bell pepper with diced poblano pepper and they worked beautifully.

Once the roux reaches the desired color, its stirred into the tender sautéed veggies, along with one cup of chicken broth and a tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley.

This mixture is brought to a gentle boil, then reduced to low before folding in the the crawfish meat. We had exactly one pound of crawfish tails leftover, which was the perfect amount for 4 servings of Crawfish Étouffée.

While crawfish tails plucked from a giant pile sitting on your backyard picnic table is preferred, for this dish you can replace freshly boiled crawfish meat with a pound of frozen crawfish tails or shrimp, both of which are readily available.

They won’t come seasoned so you’ll need to add cajun seasoning when you add in the broth.

How to Serve Étouffée

We served our Crawfish Étouffée over white rice topped with a generous sprinkle of sliced green onions.

The tender crawfish tails are bursting with cajun spices! However, the buttery roux and veggies balanced the heat.

I can’t wait for our next crawfish boil, but I’m equally excited to see what crawfish recipe we try next.

There’s crawfish bisque, crawfish pie, crawfish gumbo, fried crawfish, creole crawfish, jambalaya with crawfish…..

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Crawfish Étouffée

The tender crawfish tails bursting with cajun spices were balanced by the buttery roux and veggies. The perfect post-crawfish boil meal.

Course Entree

Cuisine Cajun

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the Crawfish Etouffee

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced green bell pepper or substitute fire roasted poblano pepper (skin removed)
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
• 1 pound seasoned crawfish tails add 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning if using frozen
• salt & pepper to taste

To Serve

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked basmati rice prepared according to package instructions
• 2 green onions thinly sliced

Instructions

For Crawfish Etouffee

• Melt butter in a skillet over low heat. Stir in flour, continue stirring until roux reaches the color of peanut butter. Note: the roux will continue to cook in pan if you're not using immediately.
• Meanwhile, saute onion, celery, green pepper and garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high until tender. Add cooked roux to veggie mixture along with one cup chicken broth and fresh parsley. Bring to a gentle boil and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and fold in crawfish tails. Cook for 2-3 minutes until heated through. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

To Serve

• Serve Etouffee over cooked white rice with a generous sprinkle of sliced green onion.

Here are a few pics from Mardi Gras 2020.

The post Crawfish Étouffée & A Crawfish Boil appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

There are times when you just need to use up ingredients already in your fridge or pantry.

These Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers are made for those days.

Change up the filling according to what’s on hand and you have an easy week night dinner that the whole crew will love!

The key ingredient categories in Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers are:

Ground meat (chicken, turkey, beef or vegetarian meat substitute): we used ground chicken

Canned beans (black, kidney, white, or chickpeas): we used black beans

Cooked rice or grain (white rice, brown rice, quinoa, or couscous): we used leftover cooked rice and quinoa

Tomatoes (canned or fresh diced tomatoes, salsa, or tomato sauce): we used canned fire roasted diced tomatoes

Shredded Cheese (cheddar, monterey jack, pepperjack, or colby): we used monterey jack

Aromatics (onion, shallot, garlic, jalapeno, scallion, and/or cilantro): we used diced onion and jalapeno, and fresh cilantro

Seasoning (chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder): we used them all

Besides being as satisfying as a casserole or comfort food, Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers are a healthy and hearty meal.

Did you know that red bell peppers compared to green bell peppers have 10 times more beta-carotene and are loaded with Vitamin C, Vitamin A and are rich in antioxidants?

And they make terrific leftovers for lunch the next day!

Enjoy!!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers

Change up the filling according to what's on hand and you have an easy, healthy and hearty week night dinner that the whole crew will love!

Course Main Course

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 4 bell peppers halved, seeds removed
• 2 cups cooked rice or favorite grain such as quinoa or couscous
• 1 Tbl olive oil
• 1 sweet onion diced
• 1 jalapeno fine diced
• 1/2 pound ground chicken or turkey, beef or meat substitute
• salt & pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground oregano
• 1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed or kidney or white beans
• 2 1/2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese, reserve 1/2 cup for topping or cheddar or pepperjack or colby
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place halved bell peppers cut side up in a shallow baking dish.
• In a large skillet, saute onion and jalapeno in olive oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add ground meat, season with salt & pepper and brown until cooked through, breaking into pieces with wooden spoon. Add the garlic powder, chili powder, cumin and oregano, stir to combine. Remove from heat and fold in beans and cooked rice (or grain), 2 cups shredded cheese, and chopped cilantro.
• Stuff pepper halves with filling. Bake for 30 minutes covered in foil. Remove foil, top with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese and bake uncovered for an additional 15-20 minutes until peppers are tender.

Notes

For Vegetarian version, substitute meat substitute for ground meat.

The post Healthy Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

We were first introduced to Flat Iron Steaks a couple years ago and they are now a favorite for recipes that call for a nice thin sliced steak.  They love to be marinated which is how this quick and easy Steak Fajitas recipe adapted from Simply Recipes begins.

Combine the steak with lime juice, olive oil, soy sauce, minced garlic, fresh ground cumin, jalapeno, and fresh cilantro in a large ziplock bag and allow to sit at room temperature for an hour, or longer in the fridge.

We find a great way to sear flat iron steaks is in a hot cast iron skillet.  So fire up the grill and let your cast iron skillet get good and hot.  Before cooking the steak, wipe off any excess marinade.  Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan then add the steak, cooking for 2-3 minutes per side.  Remove the steak to a plate and cover with foil for at least 5 minutes.  * Recipe note: be sure you have plenty of gas for the grill.  If not improvise…and fire up the broiler.  And yes, that cast iron skillet has been flipped over and converted into a cast iron griddle.

While the steak rests, cook the peppers and onions in the cast iron skillet, allowing them to sear before stirring, about 5 minutes total.

Slice the steak nice and thin and on an angle across the grain.  Serve the Flat Iron Steak Fajitas with the sauteed peppers and onions, fresh tomato salsa, shredded lettuce & cheese, sour cream, guacamole, warm flour tortillas, and a side of Mexican Rice.

The post Flat Iron Steak Fajitas {with Mexican Rice} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.