Sofrito is the flavour base of ingredients cooked slowly in oil that sits behind rice dishes and stews. The DLE (the Royal Spanish Academy dictionary) defines it as a “seasoning added to a stew, made up of various ingredients fried in oil, especially onion or garlic, among others”. That “among others” matters, because the sofrito for a paella valenciana is nothing like the one for a pot of lentils.
The sofrito for paella valenciana
In a paella, the sofrito is made in the paella pan itself, and it’s where half the dish is won or lost. The recipe published by València Turisme, the tourist board of the Valencia provincial council, first browns the chicken and rabbit well, then adds the green beans, the garrofó and the vaina (flat green beans), and finally the grated tomato. The rice, paprika, saffron and water come after that.
Notice what’s missing: onion. There isn’t any. Nor is it among the ten ingredients used by more than 90% of the home cooks consulted in a study by the Catholic University of Valencia on paella valenciana. The flavour of this sofrito comes from well-browned meat and from the tomato, not from onion. That tomato came from the Americas and local cooks made it their own, as our history of Valencian cuisine explains.
That browned meat leaves fat and flavour on the bottom of the pan for the rice to pick up, right where the socarrat will form. That’s why a paella sofrito is never rushed: if it burns at this stage, the bitterness carries through to the very last grain.
The onion and tomato sofrito
The one made at home for stews, sauces and plenty of rice dishes cooked in a casserole is a different thing altogether. It starts with finely chopped onion; once that has softened, the garlic and the tomato go in, and the salt at the end, all over a low heat (that is how Chef Caprabo explains it). Green or red pepper is optional.
| Paella valenciana sofrito | Onion and tomato sofrito | |
|---|---|---|
| Base | Chicken and rabbit | Onion and garlic |
| Vegetables | Green beans, garrofó, tomato | Tomato, pepper optional |
| Onion | No | Yes, it goes in first |
| Where it’s made | In the paella pan | In a frying pan or casserole |
What sofregit means
Sofregit is the Valencian word for sofrito. The Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua defines it as “fregit de ceba i tomaca que servix de base per a la preparació d’algun plat” (onion and tomato fried together as the base for a dish), and gives an example anyone round here has heard on a Sunday: “El sofregit de l’arròs s’està fent” (the sofregit for the rice is on). Just because the dictionary mentions onion and tomato doesn’t mean every rice dish has them: paella valenciana does things its own way.
Sofrito and stock: two stages
The sofrito builds the flavour base; the stock carries it through the rice. In a seafood rice, that liquid is usually a fish stock or a fumet. If either one lets you down, the other can’t make up for it.
At a group meal, the sofrito needs its time in the pan, and you have to allow for it when you set the time to eat. At Xepep the rice is cooked live, in front of your guests: see our live paella and rice catering for events.
For more vocabulary from the table and the fiesta, explore Saffron.
To go from the term to the kitchen, see how it is handled in the tomato and pepper coca and the rice with pork and vegetables, with quantities and steps.
