Sofrito is a cooked or pureed aromatic base of onions, garlic, and peppers used as the flavor foundation for many Latin American and Caribbean dishes, especially rice, beans, stews, and braised meats. In Puerto Rican cooking it typically also includes culantro (recao), aji dulce peppers, tomatoes, and cilantro or parsley, blended into a fragrant, moderately spicy paste; other regions build their own versions around different core vegetables, such as Colombian hogao (tomato and onion) or Ecuadorian refrito.
The term and technique trace back to Spanish cooking (from "sofreir," to lightly fry), carried across the Caribbean and Latin America through Spanish colonization and adapted with local ingredients in each region.
Do not confuse sofrito with soffritto, the similarly named Italian aromatic base of onion, carrot, and celery - the two developed independently and use different vegetables.
Puerto Rican recaito is a related green aromatic base, commonly made with culantro.