I’ve been on a sardine and curtido kick for my lunches. Of course, a nice chunk of sourdough baguette is also on the plate to soak up the oil and juices. Sardines are a great source of protein, and they tend to be less expensive than other sources of fish and animal proteins. The best kind comes from Spain, packed in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) or water.
Sardines help me reach my daily protein quota of about 115 grams if I follow the calculation: 1.5 grams of protein per kilo of body weight to maximize muscle. You can eat a minimum of 1 gram per kilo of body weight, and if you are older, recovering from illness, or doing a lot of exercise training, it can rise to 2 grams of protein per kilo of body weight a day.
I previously discussed how eating enough protein is essential for mood due to amino acids, which fuel our brain’s neurotransmitters, and, along the way, also build muscle. However, to use the protein, we must also make our muscles work.
How to Make Curtido
It occurs to me that many people—unless you are a Latino sister or brother—don’t know what curtido is, so I am providing you with this recipe below. It’s easy to make and stays in the fridge for weeks (unless you love it so much you finish it all in one sitting!).
Curtido complements and aids in the digestion of protein. The vinegar also is an energy and mood booster.
This recipe calls for Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens), a Verbena that differs from the mint species (Origanum vulgare) we use in Italian cooking.
This is my favorite recipe, but curtido can accommodate almost any raw vegetable, including cabbage, which is common in Salvadoran curtido.
If you have a favorite curtido recipe, send it to me. I’d love to try it!
Curtido Recipe
Takes 10 minutes to make.
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium red onion, peeled and very thinly sliced
- 1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cauliflower broken into small florets
- 2 large jalapeños, halved and seeded
- 1 heaping teaspoon of Mexican oregano
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of raw honey
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions
1. Toss the onion, carrots, cauliflower, jalapeno, and oregano in a large bowl.
2. Combine the vinegar, honey, and salt in a small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring for about 3 -5 minutes until all the ingredients dissolve.
3. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the vegetables and mix gently. Add the olive oil and toss well. Cover and let this mixture cool on the countertop. The heated liquid plus the cover will soften the raw vegetables.
4. When the mixture is cool, spoon it into one or more wide-mouth mason jars or a glass container and refrigerate overnight. It’s ready to eat the next day, but the flavors intensify if you wait even longer. Use it as a side dish or a snack.
Cooking tip: When you handle raw chilies like jalapenos, the volatile oils get on your hands, and you may rub your eyes or mucus membranes, which will burn. Soap and water do not break down the oils, as a rule. So, after handling chilies, do what my comadre Alicia Rodriguez taught me. Rub your fingers through your hair so the hair captures the chili oils. Then, you are ready to wash with soap and water and not have to worry about accidentally spreading chili oil where you don’t want it.
She served as a Fulbright scholar on traditional medicine, a Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School, and a National Institutes of Health-funded research scientist in mind/body medicine.
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