Curtido: Spicy Sauerkraut!

Curtido is a spicy version of sauerkraut from El Salvador... something like a pickled coleslaw or a mild kimchi.

It is quick to prepare and awesome on just about anything!

I love to eat it with rice, lentils and melted cheese; or slathered on a warm piece of buttered sourdough! (I did say I was part Ukrainian!) 

Definitely a staple in my fridge throughout the year and particularly wonderful to ferment with fresh autumn veggies.

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Curtido: A Spicy Salvadorian Sauerkraut
Prep Time: 20 minutes
 
Ingredients:

• 1 head cabbage, grated
• 1 carrot, grated
• ½ white onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1½ T dried oregano

(1/2 T less if you don’t love oregano)

• ¼ to ½T of chili pepper flakes
• ¼ tsp cumin
• 1 T sea salt

 
I use my food processor to grate the cabbage and carrot but you can use a hand grater or slice very thin.

1. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage and carrot with the remaining ingredients (except the chili pepper)
2. With clean hands, massage the mixture until the salt begins to draw out water from the vegetables. This is your brine and you want the mixture to be juicy.
3. Stir in the chili peppers (we don’t want to massage the peppers with our hands!)
4. Stuff the mixture into a crock or 1-litre jar and press down until the brine fluid comes above the veggies. Add a weight to keep the food below the brine level – I like to use a clean 125ml jar which I can fill with water for extra weight if needed.
5. Cover and put in a warm, shaded spot to ferment ( 3-7days).
6. Taste and check your curtido daily to ensure the veggies stay submerged in the brine. You can add clean, unchlorinated water if you need a little extra fluid.
7. Once it is to your liking, you can eat it or store in the fridge for many weeks (if it lasts that long!)