Sofrito is heavily emphasized as the third critical component in a "sofregit" base along with tomatoes and onions. Garlic is optional, as it is not considered an integral part of the standard "sofregit" recipe. Some "sofregit" recipes do not contain tomatoes at all, but are made more complex with the addition of diced vegetables such as leeks or bell peppers. In Italian cuisine, chopped onions, carrots and celery is battuto, and then, slowly cooked in olive oil, becomes "soffritto". It is used as the base for most pasta sauces, such as arrabbiata sauce, but occasionally it can be used as the
Pasta all'Ortolana Pasta all'Ortolana Pasta all'Ortolana is an Italian dish made by cooking various different vegetables before mixing them together with pasta ( translates "Greengrocer"). The recipe does not state a specific type of pasta, so it can be made with Fusilli, Fettuccine, Penne, Rigatoni, Farfalle or any other type of short Pasta. The vegetables used in the process are generally carrots, onions, leeks, garlic, zucchini, celery, yellow and red capsicum, cherry tomatoes and eggplants. Vegetables have to be washed and cleaned before slicing them in small strips (apart from the celery that needs to be chopped in even smaller pieces). The