Lacto-fermented Cortido (a variation on Sauerkraut)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2-4 days
- Category: Side Dish
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 head/about 1000 g of Napa cabbage, cored and outer leaves removed, then shredded by hand or in a food processor
- 2 tablespoons fine Celtic sea salt
- 1 cup/about 140 g chopped carrots
- 1 green apple, peeled and sliced thin
- 1 onion, peeled and sliced thin
- 1 fresh jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano (use Mexican oregano if you can find it)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 sterilized quart size canning jar with a screw-top lid, preferably BPA-free
Instructions
- In a large non-metal bowl, mix the cabbage with the sea salt. Use clean hands to really work the salt into the cabbage, and then allow it to rest for 1-2 hours. The cabbage will wilt and brine (salty liquid) will develop.
- Add the carrots, apple, onion, jalapeño, and lime juice to the cabbage and mix well.
- Spoon the cabbage mixture into the jar, and as you do so, press down very firmly with a pounder (the back of a wooden spoon will also do) until the juices come to the top of the cabbage. Really stuff the cabbage mixture in there: you’ll be able to fit more than you think, but don’t fill the jar to the very top. The top of the cabbage should be at least 1-inch below the rim of the jar (this is because there will be some expansion while it is lacto-fermenting and you don’t want any liquid to overflow out of the jar) so you may have a little of the cabbage mixture leftover that does not fit. If there is not enough liquid, add filtered water until the cabbage is just barely covered.
- Screw lid onto the jar and keep on your counter at room temperature for 2-4 days. (Open the jars and see if the liquid is bubbly after 2 days, If it’s bubbly, you can transfer your jar to the refrigerator, where your cortido will continue to lacto-ferment at a slower rate. If it’s not bubbly yet, leave it on the counter for another day or two). You can eat your cortido right away, or wait a week or so for the flavors to develop further. Lacto-fermented vegetables like this will keep for 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Makes enough to fill a 1-quart glass jar