Spanish-style "sofrito"

Here's the recipe (from a top Madrid chef) - you can use whatever veg you favor - as I see it, tomato, leek & onion are the base, then add what you like. Some use garlic, green or red pepper, shallots - I avoid the pepper as it seems to "take over", masking the other ingredients, but that's me... No spices needed, add the appropriate ones when using, depending on the dish. The chef says the secret is a long slow cook in a covered pan. Seems to work.

It comes in handy as a veggie flavor booster for all sorts of dishes: soups, beans, chili, pasta sauce, stews, curries, and of course paella. Add oil & vinegar or lemon juice and you have an interesting salad dressing (also mustard, Tabasco, yogurt or mayonaise).

Making a big batch of sofrito. Had some tomatoes getting too ripe, so it was use or else:

• 3 large-ish ripe tomatoes
• 1 large onion
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 medium carrot
• 6" or so of leek (part green, part white)
• olive oil, salt.

Veg finely diced, cook with a goodly splash of olive oil (3-4 tbsp) and a bit of salt in a covered pan, once it starts to bubble go to a low simmer and cook (covered) for 90 minutes (or more). Freeze in small jars. This batch was simmering away for about 2 hours. Made for about 5/6 jelly jars worth of a super tasty sofrito.

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