Encurtido

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 300 gwhite cabbage, shredded
• 3carrots, sliced thin
• 2onions, sliced
• 200 gcauliflower, in small florets
• 6jalapeños, sliced into rings
• 4 clovesgarlic, sliced

Pickle

• 400 mlwhite vinegar
• 200 mlwater
• 1 tbspsalt
• 2 tspsugar
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1 tspblack peppercorns
• 3bay leaves

To serve

• baleadas, tacos, or anything fried

Directions

1. Blanch the carrot and cauliflower in boiling water for 60 seconds only, then drain and plunge into cold water. This takes off the raw edge and sets the colour without softening them.
2. Pack the blanched vegetables into a jar with the raw cabbage, onion, jalapeño and garlic.
3. Bring the vinegar, water, salt, sugar, oregano, peppercorns and bay to a simmer, stirring until the salt dissolves.
4. Pour it over the vegetables while hot so everything is covered, pressing them down under the liquid.
5. Cool, seal and refrigerate for at least three days before using. Straight away it tastes of raw vinegar; by day three the heat has spread and the flavours have settled together.
6. Serve a good spoonful on baleadas, tacos and anything fried. It keeps two months in the fridge and gets hotter as it goes.
7. Use a clean dry fork each time — a wet or greasy one shortens the jar’s life considerably.

Technique

• Blanch briefly, no more. Boiled vegetables turn to mush in the jar and the whole point is the crunch against fried food.
• The heat builds over weeks as capsaicin leaches into the vinegar. A jar that is mild on day three will not be mild in a month.
• Keep it refrigerated. This is a fridge pickle, not a canned preserve.

Substitutions

• Cider vinegar for white, which is rounder.
• Chayote, green beans or radish, all of which are pickled this way.
• Habanero for a much hotter jar.

Variations

• The Salvadoran curtido is lightly fermented rather than vinegar-pickled, and is a different thing.
• A version with the vegetables cut much finer, served as a relish rather than a pickle.

History

The jar that sits on every baleada and taco stand in Honduras, cutting the fat of fried food.

Frequently asked questions

What is Encurtido?

Encurtido is a fermented & pickled from Honduras: carrot, onion, cabbage and chile soured in vinegar, spooned onto everything. The jar that sits on every baleada and taco stand in Honduras, cutting the fat of fried food.

How long does Encurtido take to make?

Encurtido takes 25 min plus 3 days of preparation and 10 min of cooking. The recipe makes fills a 1-litre jar. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Encurtido?

Yes, within limits. Cider vinegar for white, which is rounder. Chayote, green beans or radish, all of which are pickled this way. Habanero for a much hotter jar.

What is the most important thing to get right in Encurtido?

Blanch briefly, no more. Boiled vegetables turn to mush in the jar and the whole point is the crunch against fried food.