Salting and Draining Vegetables

What It Is

Salting tomatoes, cabbage, cucumber or onion and resting them so osmosis pulls out water before they're dressed. For cabbage this is the curtido move; for tomato it's maceration.

Why It Matters

Watery vegetables weep on contact with salt and acid, diluting a dressing and turning a crisp salad slack. Pulling the water out first concentrates the vegetable's own flavour and keeps the dressing where you want it — on the food, not pooled under it.

How to Execute

• Tomato: salt the cut wedges (~½ tsp flaky salt per large tomato), rest 15 min, tip off the liquid.
• Cabbage (curtido): ~½ tsp salt per 200 g, rest 20–30 min, then squeeze dry in a towel.
• Cherry tomatoes: halve, salt lightly, drain 10 min in a sieve.
• Account for the salt already added when you season the finished dish.

Common Mistakes

• Dressing first, then wondering why it's watery.
• Over-salting and forgetting to compensate later.
• Skipping the squeeze on cabbage — the water is still in there.