Salvadoran Curtido Recipe (Pickled Cabbage)
Often, when someone learns I am Salvadoran, they get really excited and tell me how much they love pupusas con curtido. If you have never tried pupusas con curtido you are in for a treat.
Curtido is a traditional Salvadoran pickled cabbage. However, some curtido recipes are fermented. Pickled curtido is easy to make and ready to enjoy in as little as 24 hours, while fermented curtido takes about 10-12 days. Pickled curtido is crunchier than the fermented version.
Curtido makes use of the the natural sugars in the carrots to “curtir”so there is no need to add sugar. I love thinking about all the happy accidents that led to the creation of something as yummy as curtido.
Every Salvadoran mama has her own version of curtido. I am so excited to share my curtido recipe with you! My mom pickled her curtido with her homemade pineapple vinegar, that’s hard to find so I make mine with apple cider vinegar.
Buen provecho!
Laura
Curtido tastes great with almost anything but especially well with pupusas!
When making curtido, I make sure to have the following handy: - 2 Wide mouth Mason jars
- Wide mouth lids
- Large glass bowl
- Stainless steel forks or other non-reactive (plastic, wood)
- Wide mouth funnel
Tips for making curtido
- Have 2 mason jars ready since the size of cabbages and end product varies greatly. Sometimes it will all fit in 1 jar other times there will be extra (lucky you!).
- Use glass, stainless steel or other non-reactive utensils and bowls. Aluminum will change taste and color in undesirable ways.
- Blanching the cabbage for 1 minute is optional, but I find it preserves the cabbage color beautifully.
- Use sea salt or pickling salt.
- Make 3 days ahead to allow the flavor to build before eating.
- Err on the side of too much oregano vs too little as oregano is the key spice in Salvadoran curtido.
Basic Salvadoran Curtido Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 green cabbage, shredded
- 2 carrots, shredded
- 1 purple onion, thinly sliced
- 2 Tbs Kosher sea salt
- 1 tsp coarse black pepper
- 1-2 Tbs dry oregano, (or 4 Tbs fresh)
- 3 Bay leaves
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar (traditionally pineapple vinegar)
- 2 cups water
Make It
- Optional: Boil a kettle of water; In a large glass bowl, pour boiling water over cabbage, allow to sit in water for 1 minute, drain water;
- Mix in salt, cover and set aside.
- Allow curtido to sit for 3 hours in a covered glass bowl in fridge to draw out water from cabbage;
- Add carrots, onions, pepper and oregano to cabbage;
- Add vinegar and water, mix well.
- Add 2 bay leaves to each jar before filling with curtido;
- Pack curtido and brine tightly into mason jar/s, leave 1/2” headspace;
- Add water if necessary until brine covers top of curtido;
- Use a knife to remove any air bubbles in jar;
- Lightly close jars (don’t tighten lid all the way);
- Refrigerate for up to 4 weeks and make sure the brine stays above mixture in jar during storage.
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