Sofrito peppers, celery can replace onions, and parsley or culantro can be used in place of cilantro. In Ecuadorian cuisine, sofrito is called "refrito", and it is made of Spanish onions, cubanelle peppers, fresh tomatoes, roasted garlic, cilantro, and ground toasted cumin. In the Mexican state of Yucatán, habanero chiles are essential to the local variation of sofrito. In Puerto Rican cuisine, sofrito is mostly used when cooking rice dishes, sauces, and soups. Sofrito is closely related to "recaíto". The two main ingredients that give Puerto Rican sofrito its characteristic flavor are "recao" (culantro) and "ají dulce", but red and green
Parsley or curly leaf ("P. crispum crispum" group; syn. "P. crispum" var. "crispum"); and, Italian, or flat leaf ("P. crispum neapolitanum" group; syn. "P. crispum" var. "neapolitanum"). Of these, the "neapolitanum" group more closely resembles the natural wild species. Flat-leaved parsley is preferred by some gardeners as it is easier to cultivate, being more tolerant of both rain and sunshine, and is said to have a stronger flavor — although this is disputed — while curly leaf parsley is preferred by others because of its more decorative appearance in garnishing. A third type, sometimes grown in southern Italy, has thick leaf