Recipe – Curtido!

Prep Time

20 minutes

Fermenting Time

5 days

Yields

About 2 cups

Ingredients

  • 1/4 head small Red Cabbage, finely shredded, about 2 cups (Reserve outer couple of leaves)
  • 1/4 Red Onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 Carrot, shredded
  • 2 Mini Peppers, sliced thin
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/4 bunch Cilantro, chopped fine (leaves and stems)
  • 3/4 tablespoon Sea Salt
  • 1 tsp Chipotle Powder (to your taste)
  • 1 tsp Mexican Oregano
  • 1 tsp Cumin

Supplies

  • 1 Sterilized Jar – about 20 oz

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Let sit for about 10 -20 minutes allowing the veggies and salt to merge and extract the natural juices.  Use your hands to massage the mixture until it’s broken down. It will reduce to about half.
  2. Fill up the jar with the cabbage mixture. Place the reserved cabbage leaves on top of the mixture and press down with a spoon or pounder, leaving 1 or 2 inches of space at the top. (The cabbage must be completely covered with the liquid.  The leaves that we put on top of the mixture helps to keep the mixture submerged.  Also, you can use a weight or water-filled zip lock bag, to make doubly sure! Put the empty zip-lock bag on the top of the cabbage leaves, fill it with enough water to hold down the leaves and zip it closed.  This creates a good weight and barrier.)
  3. Cover the top with cheesecloth or loose lid.
  4. Let sit at room temperature for a minimum of 5 days and a maximum of 3 weeks, checking daily to make sure the mixture is still submerged in the liquid, packing down again if need be. 
  5.  Little bubbles will start to rise up from the bottom. This means the fermentation is happening.  Fermentation happens faster in warmer weather.
  6. Refrigerate, keeping the Curtido submerged under the brine.

Notes

  • If there isn’t enough liquid to completely submerge your cabbage mixture you can add a little brine (Brine= 1 teaspoon sea salt per cup of filtered or boiled, and cooled, water.) 
  • The longer it ferments, the more beneficial bacteria you will have. If your house is warm, the fermentation will happen more quickly. (Ideal temperature for fermentation is 65-72° F (18–22° C).
  • You can experiment. With the first batch you make, taste it after 5 days. If you like it… refrigerate it and eat it.  The next batch you make, let it ferment for an additional week. See how you like that. And then, continue, until you reach the max of 3 weeks.
  • Curtido will keep for up to 6 months in the refrigerator, as long as it is submerged under the brine. It will continue to develop flavor over time and will also ferment (very slightly) in the fridge.
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