Spanish

Sofrito (Thermomix TM6)

Onion, tomato, garlic, olive oil — cooked until the oil separates. The invisible foundation of Spanish cuisine, built hands-off in the TM6.

+ Pin to:

Base / Pantry Staple
·
None
·
Makes 4–6 × 200 g portions
·
57 min (hands-off in TM6)

The Invisible Foundation

Every great Spanish dish has sofrito in it somewhere. Paella. Fideuà. Arroz caldoso. Fabada. Lentejas. Braised rabbit. Shakshuka's Spanish cousin. The slow-cooked base of onion, tomato, garlic, and olive oil is to Spanish cooking what dashi is to Japanese and mirepoix is to French — the unseen layer that makes everything taste like it comes from somewhere.

The stovetop version takes ninety minutes of periodic stirring. The TM6 version takes five minutes of active work and fifty-seven minutes of ignoring the machine. The temperature control prevents burning. The gentle reverse-rotation blades mimic occasional stirring. You set it, you walk away, you come back to what your abuela would have spent Saturday morning making.

The magic is not in the ingredients — they're identical across every Spanish kitchen. The magic is in the sofrit moment: when the tomato water has fully evaporated, the sugars have concentrated, the Maillard reaction has kicked in on the residual sugars, and the oil visibly separates from the solids and pools on the surface. That separation is the signal. The sofrito is done. Everything else you cook for the next six months will taste better because of it.

Ingredients

for Makes 4–6 × 200 g portions

0 of 19 pulled

Everyday

The Base

3 large yellow onions (~600 g), peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled
6 large ripe tomatoes, grated on box grater (~800 g pulp) — OR 1 × 800 g can San Marzano, hand-crushed
150 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp fine salt
1 tsp sugar (optional — only if tomatoes are very acidic)

Substitution Notes

No fresh tomatoes in winter? Canned San Marzano DOP is the right move. Out-of-season fresh tomatoes are strictly worse than good canned tomatoes for sofrito.
White vs yellow onion? Both work. Yellow is sweeter and more common in Spanish tradition. Avoid red onion — too sharp, wrong sugar profile.
No TM6? Follow the stovetop method in Sauces & Condiments §4. TM6 just saves attention; the final product is the same.

No Limits

The Base — Spanish Premium

3 large yellow onions (~600 g) — Pablo's normal sourcing is fine here; onions are a commodity ingredient
4 cloves garlic, preferably Spanish (Las Pedroñeras purple garlic if available — nuttier, less sharp)
6 large vine-ripe tomatoes in season (summer Miami) — grated · OR 1 × 800 g can Mutti or Bianco DiNapoli for winter (Bianco is the US gold standard for canned)
150 ml Arbequina EVOO (Pablo has ✓) — single-estate for finishing; use a separate less-premium EVOO if making double batch to save the good oil
1 tsp Maldon salt (Pablo has ✓)
1 tsp sugar (only if tomatoes are acidic)
1 tsp Pimentón de la Vera dulce DO — bloomed in oil at the end (see 🔴 technique card)

Infrastructure (Pablo-Specific)

Vacuum sealer + bags — portion 200 g per bag for single paella (serves 4)
Freezer-Tetris labels — date + weight + cook note (e.g., "2026-04 · 200 g · summer Miami tomato")
Quarterly rotation plan — make 1.2 kg batch once per quarter → 6 portions → covers a full season of Spanish cooking

Mise en Place

0 of 6 prepped

Onions peeled and quartered (TM6 will chop them — no pre-chopping needed)
Garlic peeled (leave whole or halved — TM6 will disperse them)
Tomatoes grated on box grater, skins discarded (Catalan method) OR can of San Marzano opened and hand-crushed
Measuring cup (CUP) ready for 'slightly ajar' positioning during cooking
Vacuum bags labeled ahead of time with date + weight
Ice bath ready if you plan to cool rapidly before portioning

Method

0 of 19 done

Chop the Base

Peel 3 large yellow onions and 4 garlic cloves. Quarter the onions (TM6 will finish the chop — no need to dice by hand).

Add onions + garlic to the TM6 bowl.

Sp 5 / 5 sec. Scrape down the sides with a spatula.

Check the texture — you want uniform fine dice (3–5 mm). If chunky, pulse one more time at Sp 5 for 2–3 seconds. Do not over-chop — the TM6 can purée onions in 10 seconds. Stop before purée.

Sweat the Onions (30 min)

Add 150 ml EVOO and 1 tsp salt to the chopped onions.

Set: 100 °C / Sp 1 / 30 min .

CRITICAL: Place the measuring cup in the lid position SLIGHTLY AJAR — wedged at an angle so steam can escape. If the cup is fully seated, steam trapped inside condenses back and the onions boil rather than sweat.

Walk away. Do not open the lid during these 30 minutes. The TM6 is doing its thing.

At T+30 min: the onions should be translucent-to-golden, visibly reduced in volume (by ~60%), with oil clearly separated around them. NO browning. If browned, your TM6's 100 °C is running hot — next time drop to 95 °C.

Add Tomato, Concentrate (25 min)

Through the measuring cup hole: add 800 g grated fresh tomato (summer) or 1 × 800 g can San Marzano, hand-crushed (winter).

Set: Varoma / Sp 1 / 25 min . Cup slightly ajar.

Why Varoma temperature (≈120 °C)? Higher than 100 °C drives water evaporation faster — sofrito needs the tomato to concentrate, not simmer indefinitely. The Varoma setting is TM6-specific for this "high heat reduction" phase.

Walk away again. Do not lift the lid.

At T+25 min: open the lid and look for the sofrit moment. The tomato has darkened from red to deep brick-red. The texture is thick, jammy, paste-like. Most critically: oil has separated and pools visibly on the surface. That oil separation is the signal that the water is gone.

Finish + Portion

Taste. Adjust salt. If tomatoes were acidic: add 1 tsp sugar, Sp 1 / 10 sec to incorporate.

(🔴) Add 1 tsp pimentón de la Vera dulce DO. Varoma / Sp 1 / 30 sec — see the 🔴 technique card for full method.

Let cool in the bowl for 10 minutes (or transfer to a bowl in ice bath for rapid cooling).

Portion into 200 g bags. Vacuum seal. Lay flat on a sheet pan in the freezer for initial 2-hour freeze (keeps bags flat for Tetris storage), then transfer to freezer bin.

Label each bag: YYYY-MM · 200 g · [tomato source note]. Example: 2026-04 · 200 g · summer Miami tomato.

Timeline

T-5 min — Prep Peel onions + garlic. Grate tomatoes (or open/crush can). Measure oil.
T+0:00 — Chop onions Onions + garlic into TM6 bowl. Sp 5 / 5 sec. Scrape down. Result: fine dice texture.
T+0:30 — Start the sweat Add EVOO + salt. 100 °C / Sp 1 / 30 min. Measuring cup SLIGHTLY AJAR (critical — lets steam escape).
T+30:30 — Check onions Onions should be translucent → golden → jammy. NO browning. If browning, next time drop to 90 °C.
T+30:30 — Add tomato Grated tomato (or crushed canned) through the measuring cup hole. Varoma / Sp 1 / 25 min. Cup ajar.
T+55:30 — The sofrit moment Open the lid. Tomato should be brick-red, thick, and OIL SEPARATED on the surface. That's the signal.
T+56:30 — 🔴 Pimentón bloom (No Limits) Add 1 tsp pimentón de la Vera. Varoma / Sp 1 / 30 sec. Oil carries the pigment; color deepens noticeably.
T+57:00 — Portion + store Weigh 200 g portions into vacuum bags. Seal. Freeze (lay flat for fast thaw + efficient stacking).