Dominican Sazon
I’m sure every Caribbean person has had this happen to them a bunch of times in their life- you go in the fridge to get butter, open the container, and lo and behold what you thought was butter is really food or sazón (also known as sofrito). In my house the butter tub was never really the butter tub and instead it was my mother’s marinade jar. She recycled all containers (“we don’t waste anything in this house”- her annoying fav phrase lol) and used them to bottle this marinade. Let’s just say I always made sure I opened a container before actually grabbing it out of the fridge. You just never knew what you were going to get.
For Dominicans, as well as many other Hispanic cultures, sazón is a staple. It’s our “go to” magical potion! It’s a seasoning agent that is used on everything from meats, rice, and even beans. If you ask me, it’s quite brilliant and very convenient. It saves a lot of time, and has the ability to turn any meal from good to AMAZING! Not to mention, it is made by the real stuff- natural veggies. You get to control was goes into it instead of using powdered seasonings that contain high levels of salt and god knows what else.
Ingredients:
Any 2 empty bottles. (My mother uses empty peanut butter containers or empty butter tubs)
1 3 lb. container of peeled garlic
1/2 of a celery bunch
2 red bell peppers
2 bunches of cilantro
1 tablespoon of canola or olive oil
3 red onions
1/4 cup of vinegar
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
2 tablespoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until all ingredients are combined. Mixture should be an olive green color. Taste seasoning, and add salt if need be. Pour marinade into your plastic bottles and cover.
To preserve marinade: After pouring marinade into bottles, add a spoonful of olive to the top layer to preserve.
Refrigerate and use when needed.
Uses:
You can use this marinade/seasoning for any type of meat, rice dish, and to add some flavor to your beans. Use this mixture instead of using any powdered seasonings. It will save you a lot of time.