What's for dinner? 1/15/11 Sofrito Chicken Tacos

I made it to the produce market today, and I bought a replacement for the food processor that recently bit it.  It was time for a big batch of sofrito!

This is a cooking sauce that you can customize according to personal preference, but here's my basic recipe:

1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and minimally trimmed
2 onions
4 cloves garlic
1-2 red bell peppers, or 6-7 ajes dulces if you can get them
3 green bell peppers
(1T tomato paste makes a red sofrito)

Make a chunky puree of this in the food processor, then put into freezer bags and  store until ready to use. 

Here's how I'm using it tonight:

1. In a large skillet, thaw 1/2 cup prepared sofrito, saute on medium in 1T olive oil until it starts to caramelize
2. Add 2t soy sauce to pan, and 2T lime juice
3. Add 2-3 chicken breasts and cook them slowly until they can be shredded.  If they're frozen, just keep the temperature pretty low to let them thaw and cook through. 
4. Shred chicken with forks
5. Optional : Add 1T cumin and 1T chili powder and stir to combine, add a bit of water if pan is getting dry (less if you don't want it spicy, add a sprinkle of cayenne if you want heat).
6. You can also heat black beans in the same pan once the chicken has been shredded.  A can of tomatoes is also good to add at that point.  Just heat the beans and/or tomatoes through and make sure there's not too much moisture, or the tacos will be drippy.

Serve in whole wheat tortillas with some shredded cheese, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, etc. 

The sofrito from the original batch is about 8 cups, so my batch lasts me several weeks. Plus it's a great way to sneak in some veggies! It makes a nice cooking sauce in the crock pot for chicken.  You can use it to flavor rice and beans.  I like to make chili with it.  The possibilities are pretty endless, so google sofrito recipes and see what you find!