Soffritto

The soffritto is used in the Peperonata Rustica. I must not have read the recipe carefully because I missed the fact that between prepping and cooking this takes more than five hours to make. I halved the recipe so I would have only enough for the Peperonata Rustica. After spending so long cooking this, I wish I had at least made the whole thing so there would be more for something else! This can be stored for up to a week. It tastes delicious on its own- almost like caponata. I am planning on making the PR in a few days and this better really add to the flavor of it given how long it takes to make! (As I mentioned in a different post, if you don't have a diffuser, place the saucepan on a skillet and you should be fine.) I loved the trick of grating the plum tomatoes on a box grater. All you are left with is the skin. Very clever!

I’ve never heard of Soffrito before. Chef Kelller suggested it could be served as part of a Mezze platter and when I took a look at the simple ingredients I was intrigued. The only downside of this recipe is that it is time consuming, but it is not difficult. I set the onions on low over a diffuser and checked on them every 30 minutes or so and after adding the tomatoes halfway through, they were done 5 hours later exactly how the recipe says. The Soffrito was great on crackers and on some fresh homemade bread and Flatbread (p 280).