This zesty cole slaw is a Latin style cabbage salad found all through Latin America. There are many delicious variations ranging from tangy to spicy and mild to hot. They go by names such as curtido (El Salvadoran) and pikliz (Haitian).
Latin-style Cole Slaw Recipe
Makes about 4 cups
Ingredients
- 4 cups thinly sliced cabbage (about ½ medium head)
- 1 cup thinly sliced sweet onions or shallots (about 1 medium)
- ½ cup grated or shredded carrot (about 1 medium)
- Optional: 1 to 8 hot chile peppers (jalapeños, serranos, or habaneros) halved, seeded, and thinly sliced (or substitute ¼ teaspoon crushed dried red pepper)
- Optional: the juice from 1 lime
- 1 cup mild vinegar (such as cane, palm, or rice)
- 1½ teaspoons salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon sugar, or to taste
Directions
- In a large bowl, toss vegetables together until evenly mixed.
- Pack mixture tightly into a quart jar, pressing each layer to compact it. If you don’t have one, you might want to buy a cocktail muddler to make easy work of this task.
- Stir together the optional lime juice, vinegar, salt and sugar until sugar is dissolved.
- Pour dressing over the vegetables, making sure they are covered by 1/2 to 1 inch with the liquid.
- Refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving. Best after 3-5 days. Keeps for several weeks if kept refrigerated.
Serve Latin-style Cole slaw with grilled or fried foods or use it in tacos or to top a burger or sandwich.
