I have been to Puerto Rico a couple of times and was interested when I saw a Puerto Rican recipe in New York Times Cooking,  I made it with success, although I did not follow it exactly.  The thing which was strange about the original recipe is that it emphasized no salt ingredients and then had a final comment about salt and pepper to taste and adding a splash of green olive brine (optional) at the end.  It was as if the recipe was written for a low-sodium cookbook without saying so.

Two no-salt ingredients which the original recommended and which I used were no-salt Sazon and Adobo.  (I bought the Healthy Rican brand on Amazon.)  In this way, I got a lot of herbs and spices in the dish and could better control the overall salt content.)

I followed the original meatball instructions (which did not include any salt) which was a mistake.  In the recipe below I have corrected that, adding a tsp. of salt.

This took about an hour to make and made 6 servings for us.

Note that the sofrito makes much more than is needed for this recipe.  I have fried the excess in 2 Tbs. of olive oil to preserve it for other uses.

For the Sofrito

1 bunch cilantro

2 small Roma tomatoes

1 medium yellow onion

6 garlic cloves

1 medium bell pepper, stemmed and seeded

For the meatballs

½ lb. ground chicken (I used ground turkey)

½ lb. ground pork

¼ cup sofrito

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. no-salt adobo

1 Tbs. no-salt sazon

For the stew

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. tomato paste

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

2 cups chicken stock (I made from Better than Bouillon)

¼ cup sofrito

1 Tbs. no-salt adobo

½ Tbs. no-salt sazon

3 carrots, peeled and diced

¼ cup green olives stuffed with pimentos, sliced

1 (15 oz.) can white beans, drained and rinsed

Make the sofrito in a food processor or blender.  (I used a food processor.)  Roughly cut the vegetables.  With the engine running, drop the garlic cloves to chop them.  Stop the engine and add the vegetables.  Process about 2 minutes to a paste.

In a bowl mix the meatball ingredients, including the sofrito you just made.  Using a 1.5 inch baller, portion the meatball ingredients and then form into ½ inch thick disks.

In a large skillet heat the olive oil.  When hot, brown the meatballs on both sides, in batches if necessary.  Put them on a plate when browned.  They do not need to be cooked through at this stage.

Fry the tomato paste in the skillet for a minute.  Add the tomato sauce and chicken stock and mix well.  Add the sofrito, sazon, carrots, green olives, and meatballs.  Simmer for at least 15 minutes.  Check that the carrots are tender.  Mash half of the beans (to thicken the sauce) and add the whole and mashed beans.  Stir well.  Check for seasoning.  Serve over steamed rice.