Curtido - Salvadoran Cole Slaw
On the way up to the Catskills for a weekend camping trip, I passed through the village of Spring Valley, NY and happened upon Pupusa Magica, a Salvadoran diner in a little shopping center on Route 59.
The food there is delicious and fresh, and many dishes are wheat-free and made with masa harina*. They have pupusas, masa dough filled with pork, cheese, and vegetables. I also tried Salvadoran chilaquiles and tamales wrapped in banana leaves with smooth refried black beans and salted crema, a sour cream sauce. To complement this rich food, Pupusa Magica serves an amazingly light, shredded cabbage slaw called curtido.
This typical Salvadoran condiment is made with vinegar, salt, sugar, and a touch of oregano. The oregano adds a refreshingly herbal, green quality, and the vinegar cuts through the heaviness of fried pupusas beautifully.
*A note on masa harina: Masa is corn treated with lime water (calcium hydroxide, not the fruit), then dried and ground into a flour which can then be formed into a versatile dough (tortillas, tamales, etc. etc.) when mixed with water. Treating corn with lime allows for digestibility, the absorption of the vitamin niacin, and it also adds calcium to the diet. Since it's made from corn, its great for people avoiding wheat. However, most brands are not certified gluten-free, and there is legitimate risk of wheat contamination. If you have a serious wheat allergy or intolerance, don't assume that any masa flour is safe. You can buy gluten-free masa from Bob's Red Mill.
In doing some research, I discovered that many curtido recipes call for pickling the cabbage in a hot brine made from boiling vinegar, water, sugar, and salt. However, if your cabbage is very finely shaved with a sharp knife or mandoline slicer, and you simply toss it with the dressing, the result is lighter, crunchier, and fresher.
Curtido's simplicity complements not only Latin American food but also grilled sausages, pork ribs, chili, and other heavy Southern and German-style foods that you'd normally serve with cole slaw or sauerkraut.
I strongly recommend a mandoline slicer for this recipe, because it's really difficult to finely shave vegetables with a knife. (I think you'll find many other uses for it, too. Scalloped potatoes? beet chips? Raw zucchini noodles?) My favorite slicer is the Benriner, a Japanese mandoline/julienne slicer that is really easy to use and store. It comes in two sizes, a $30 version and a
. Just be sure to be very careful with your fingers! From personal experience, it's better to leave some vegetable unsliced than get your fingers too close to the blade.
For 8 cups of
curtido,
you will need:
1 small green cabbage
, outer leaves removed, quartered and cored
1 large carrot
, peeled
1/2 red or sweet white onion or 1 large shallot
1-2 tablespoons fresh oregano
, finely minced. Be moderate with the oregano. It's strong and can overpower.
1 cup rice vinegar
(It's less acidic than white or white wine vinegar and has a softer flavor)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
Directions:
On your mandoline, or with a sharp knife, shave the cabbage very thin, but not paper thin. (You want it to feel light and fluffy, but still have crunch and texture.) Do the same with the onion or shallot.
Also on your mandoline, slice the carrot into thin disks, then run a knife through them to create little matchsticks. Toss all the vegetables with the oregano in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix the rice vinegar with the salt and sugar until dissolved. Add the dressing to the vegetables. That's it! Refrigerate for several hours or overnight for best flavor.