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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Other sauces, salsas and condiment recipes to try:
1
Lime pickled onions – Cebollas encurtidas
Recipe for lime pickled onions or cebollas encurtidas, these Latin/Ecuadorian marinated or pickled red onions made by marinating thinly sliced red onions with lime juice and salt.
Traditional chimichurri sauce recipe made with parsley, oregano, garlic, onion, red pepper, vinegar and oil. Use to accompany empanadas and grilled meats.
Citrus habanero salsa made with a selection of citrus fruits, including oranges, grapefruit, blood orange, mandarins, kumquats, as well as habanero peppers, red onion, lime juice, cilantro, and cumin.
Recipe for passion fruit hot sauce, or ají de maracuya, is a mildly spicy creamy salsa made with passion fruit juice, ajies or hot chile peppers, lime juice, olive or avocado oil, and cilantro.
Spicy pomegranate salsa made with pomegranate arils, orange, onion, cilantro, hot pepper, lime juice, orange juice, cumin seeds, olive oil, salt and pepper.
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
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…
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
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.
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.
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,
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!
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.
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!
I love this! we call this “salsa” and we eat it with everything, its on the table with fish, beef, poultry anything!
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…
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!
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.
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.
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
Hi Rachel – I couldn’t imagine making this without lime juice and salt, thank you for stopping by!
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!