Cuban Sofrito Spaghetti

Cuban Sofrito Spaghetti or as our Abuelas would call it “Espagueti,” starts how all great Cuban dishes start off with – sofrito.

As we all know, Cuban Sofrito, is at the base of all the dishes we know and love. It’s hard to name a Cuban dish that doesn’t start here. There is Arroz Con Pollo, Picadillo, Frijoles Negros, Ropa Vieja and the list goes on and on.

The Best Cuban Sofrito Tip You Will Ever Receive

The next time you are going to make any of these classic Cuban dishes, double your Sofrito. When you double the sofrito, which is not much more work, you can freeze half of it. Then the next time you go to cook, you just pop your frozen Sofrito in the pan and start from there. You can all thank Ani for this genius hack!

Another Genius Thing To do With Cuban Sofrito

Throw it on top of Spaghetti!

My grandmother would make sofrito for something else and she would pull some out and save it for another day to make espagueti. Proving that sofrito makes everything tastier. 

Ani

The dish was born from a well stocked Cuban pantry and blending new recipes with old. You can transform a traditional sofrito into an addictive and flavorful sauce for pasta, simply by adding canned crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce. If you want to add another level you can add in small pieces of ham, chorizo or even Vienna sausages.

You can use spaghetti or short pasta, but careful not to overcook it. My grandmother’s spaghetti was cooked until lifeless. Now we know better. You want to cook your pasta just a minute or two less than the package instructions. This will keep the pasta perfectly al dente even after it’s added into the sauce. 

Cuban Spaghetti

Recipe by Abuelas Cuban CounterCourse: EntreeCuisine: Cuban, ItalianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

10

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound of pasta (spaghetti, linguini or a small pasta)

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped 

• 1 poblano pepper, finely chopped

• 6 cloves of garlic, finely minced

• 2 bay leaves

• ¼ teaspoon of ground cumin

• ½ teaspoon Sazon

• 1 cup of diced ham or chorizo

• 1 teaspoon of tomato paste

• 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes

• 1/3 cup of vino seco (you can substitute with dry white wine)

• ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil

• kosher salt Freshly cracked black pepper

• Optional garnish: chopped parsley and parmigiano cheese

Directions

• We start with the Sofrito. Turn your heat to high. Once the pan is hot, throw in your onions. Then pour in some of the olive oil just to coat the onions in the pan. Add some salt and pepper and half the salt and pepper as you begin to cook your onions. 
• Once the onions begin to look slightly transparent, throw in your peppers. If the pan is a little dry, add in a little more oil. Season the onions and peppers with the rest of your seasonings. This means a little more salt and pepper, cumin, bay leaves and the remainder of your sazon. 
• After about 3-5 minutes your peppers and onions should be soft. Move them off to the side of the pan and add in your garlic. Let the garlic cook on its own for 2-3 minutes to be sure it is cooked evenly. Then mix the garlic in with the rest of the vegetables. 
• Add the ham to the sofrito. Then the tomato paste and vino seco. Allow it to all cookout together for 5 minutes on high. 
• Add the crushed tomatoes. Then lower the heat to low and simmer for 15 -20 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning as needed. 
• When you are ready to eat, fill a large pot with water and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Set the heat to high and bring the water to a boil. 
• Once the water comes to a boil add the pasta cook a minute or two until package instructions. Drain and put it back in the pot. 
• Add the spaghetti to the sauce and cook together for 4-6 minutes until the pasta absorbs the sauce. 
  Serve hot and garnish with parmigiano cheese and freshly chopped parsley.