Sofrito recipes vary and are different in Puerto Rican dishes than in Cuban, but the essential elements include: onions, garlic, pepper (either small sweet red peppers or green bell peppers), oregano, cumin, bay leaf, oil, and culantro. Culantro and the small sweet peppers are two items you're likely to find only in a Latino market or an Asian market. Culantro is not cilantro, but has a similar flavor. The leaves are long and serrated and is sometimes called long coriander or recao. Careful not to confuse these sweet peppers with habaneros or Scotch bonnets! Those are among the hottest peppers on the planet. Sweet peppers used in sofrito look more elongated, almost like a red jalapeno. Sofrito is widely used to flavor meats, soups and stews.