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Home » All » By Course » Salads » Onion and tomato curtido salad/salsa {Curtido de cebolla y tomate}

Onion and tomato curtido salad/salsa {Curtido de cebolla y tomate}

By Layla Pujol 16 Comments

Curtido de cebolla y tomate or onion and tomato curtido salsa

This is my easy recipe for curtido de cebolla y tomate or onion and tomato curtido salsa/salad. Curtido is a Latin style lime pickled red onion and tomato salad or lime marinated onion tomato salsa. Most South American main meals will be served with a small salad, and many times this salad will be a curtido or a lime marinated based salsa.

The most basic form of curtido is a basic onion curtido or cebollas encurtidas, it is great nice and fresh, but sometimes it is even better the day after. I usually make a large batch and keep in the fridge, adding it to salads as needed.

Red onion and tomato salsa or curtido

Receta En Español

Onion and tomato salsa

Onion and tomato curtido salsa/salad {Curtido de cebolla y tomate}

Recipe for curtido de cebolla y tomate, a Latin style lime pickled red onion and tomato salad or lime marinated onion tomato salsa
4.81 from 312 votes
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Course: Appetizer, Salad, Salsa, Side Dish
Cuisine: Ecuadorian, Latin
Keyword: Cilantro, Curtido, Ecuadorian pickled onion salsa, Encurtido, Lime, Marinated, Red onions, Tomato onion salsa
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 portions

Ingredients

  • 2 small red onions
  • Juice of 3 limes
  • 1 tablespoon oil light olive oil or avocado oil
  • 3 tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon salt + more to adjust taste

Instructions

  • Slice the red onions very thinly using a sharp knife or a mandoline slicer.
  • Sprinkle the sliced onions with 1 tablespoon salt and rub the salt into the onions.
  • Cover the onions with cold water and rinse well until the salt is removed. If the onions are very strong then you can let them rest in the water for 5-10 minutes.
  • Drain the onions and place them in a bowl.
  • Add the lime juice and a sprinkle of salt, let rest until the onions start to turn pinkish, about 5-10 minutes.
  • The tomatoes can be sliced thinly or diced. Add the tomatoes to the onion curtido mix.
  • Add the oil and the chopped cilantro. Mix well, taste and add additional salt to taste if needed.

Notes

Curtido variations can also include thinly sliced carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, radishes, etc.
To turn this curtido into a complete salad, serve over chopped lettuce or salad greens and add avocado slices.

This variation of curtido or salsa is made with of red onion and tomato. The onions and tomatoes are sliced thinly and marinated with lime juice and cilantro. In Ecuador, this salsa is a must-have side for traditional dishes such as hornado or roasted pork, encebollado de pescado, fritada, menestra con arroz, carne colorada, etc. This onion tomato salsa is also great as an appetizer or snack paired with plantain chips or with regular corn chips. 

Curtido de cebolla y tomate

Other popular curtido variations can also include different thinly sliced vegetables, such as carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, radishes, etc – most curtidos will at least have lime marinaated onions plus another vegetable/fruit. This tomato and onion curtido recipe is also a great base for a salad: simply add lettuce or salad greens, avocado slices, maybe some grilled shrimp and you have a wonderful salad.

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Filed Under: All, Andean, Cilantro, Condiments, Ecuador, Latin America, Meatless, Picnics, Quick, Salads, Salsas, Sauces, Sides, South America, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. JANE WALTON says

    September 2, 2020 at 11:59 pm

    Absolutleyl adore it! It would aso go beautifully with barbecue steak chicken thighs

    Reply
  2. Angela says

    May 4, 2019 at 5:48 pm

    So so happy I found your website looking for pickled red onions ! Of course I was doing them all wrong and now I know, to soak in lemon and rinse first . Vs the European pickled onions in vinegar salt and sugar.
    My husband is Ecuadorian and I would like to be able to cook him some of his home foods. And he loves these on thin sliced fried plantains
    Thanks Again !!

    Reply
  3. Nancy S. says

    March 10, 2018 at 10:11 am

    Hi Laylita I love your recipes, and you make in very simple way than doesn’t require for a chef trying to make any of your dishes. Thanks for sharing your culinary treats .CONGRATS YOUR ARE THE BEST.

    Reply
  4. Cuqui says

    January 18, 2014 at 11:12 pm

    Me fascinan tus recetas y las fotos ayudan mucho!! Gracias desde Colorado!! You inspire me to cook delicious food!! :)

    Reply
  5. I says

    March 22, 2013 at 7:53 am

    I did this today. My kids loved it!

    Reply
  6. Deanna says

    December 27, 2011 at 2:23 am

    Love this, my exhusbands Tia would make a version of this called, Ahi ? just the onions and spcies and lime juice and we would use it almost as a salsa to top on all of our foods. I adore Ecuadorian food, fresh and tasty.

    Reply
  7. Maria Elena says

    October 2, 2011 at 5:48 am

    Cuando leo tus recetas y veo esas fotos se me hace agua la boca jajaja… me encanta tu página web. En South West Florida tienes una fan.

    Reply
  8. joanna says

    July 8, 2011 at 8:00 am

    great job posting this awesome recipe. my husband goes crazy when i make curtido with tostones – he likes to put the curtido on top of a toston and eat it like that. i usually also add a tiny bit of orange juice and some hot sauce to the mix

    keep up the good work!

    Reply
  9. Roxanna says

    September 15, 2010 at 10:43 am

    I love this! we call this “salsa” and we eat it with everything, its on the table with fish, beef, poultry anything!

    Reply
  10. Elizabeth says

    July 15, 2010 at 5:02 am

    Hello Laylita!

    I came across your website looking for the pickled red onion recipe and I found this wonderful website…I’m loving it … well presented and explained…Thank you soo much! for sharing all these wonderful recipes and taking the time to put them on your website…

    May god continue to bless you !

    Thanks your new friend…

    Reply
  11. Nora says

    March 11, 2010 at 3:44 pm

    Me dispongo a preparar este encurtido que tiene los mismos ingredientes de nuestro PICO DE GALLO, una salsa fresca mexicana que acompaña a tacos y antojitos

    Gracias!

    Reply
  12. Regenna says

    December 26, 2009 at 6:40 am

    Thank you for posting these recipes. My husband is from Ecuador and I like to provide Ecuadorian foods for our children. I have already made the Green dumpling soup and today, llapingachos. There are so many recipes here and I will be making most of them. Thanks again.

    Reply
  13. Ryan says

    December 5, 2009 at 5:20 pm

    Been to Ecuador 2 times, for a total of 10 weeks and can recall all of the local bowls of hot sauce, not knowing how long they had been on the table which did not matter. I always piled it on. Thanks for the great recipes. I remember eating the chancho from a corner market every morning for breakfast with some papas. We spent most of our time in the Tena and Baeza area sampling the rivers in our kayaks. I would love to return to my favorite Latin american country. Thanks for a quality blog.

    Reply
  14. Simonito says

    September 24, 2009 at 6:45 am

    Hola Laylita, this is great, muy rico. I-ve been to mexico where they eat this too its such a delicious flavour, simply incredible. I could eat it all day. Muchas gracias,

    Saludos Simonito

    Reply
  15. Laylita says

    July 13, 2008 at 9:07 am

    Hi Rachel – I couldn’t imagine making this without lime juice and salt, thank you for stopping by!

    Reply
  16. rachel h. says

    July 5, 2008 at 5:52 pm

    it makes me very happy to see not only this beautiful recipe, but to see that you are using salt and lime juice to make the curtido and allowing the natural lactic acids bring out the flavors. i much prefer this over using white vinegar. it’s just gorgeous!

    Reply

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 Layla Pujol is an Ecuadorian modern-day nomad who loves to cook and travel. She lives in Seattle and is currently working on her first cookbook, which will focus on delicious Ecuadorian and Latin recipes (adapted to her style). More

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