Peruvian Ceviche
Peruvian Ceviche
Ceviche is the national dish of Peru, dating back more than 2000 years. Raw fish is marinated in lemon, lime, and orange juices with red onion, hot peppers, and cilantro. The acidity from the citrus juices “cooks” the fish. While you see ceviche being served with tortilla chips in the U.S., it is traditionally served in Peru with potatoes, corn, lettuce, avocado, or sweet potatoes.There are couple routes you can go when choosing the right fish. You want to use a firm fleshed salt water white fish such as snapper, albacore tuna, sole, or halibut. Make sure that all skin and bones have been removed. If there is any bloodline on the fillets, they need to be removed as well or your ceviche will have an overly fishy taste. The pieces of fish should be cut fairly small or they will have to marinate longer. 1” pieces or smaller is perfect. The fish will need to marinate for at least 2 hours before serving.The big question is should you use fresh or frozen fish? Here are the pros and cons. Fresh fish is always going to taste the best, no question about it. The minimally slight risk is that the acidity of the citrus juices doesn’t kill any parisites if for some reason the fish had some. The pros to using frozen fish is that the flash freezing process actually kills parasites in fish. So your best option is to use the highest quality fish you can find, as close to sushi grade as you can find. My friends at Coastal Seafood recommended that I try their frozen red snapper, which ended up being of exceptional quality.
Ingredients
- 1 lb firm fleshed white fish
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/2 medium red onion thinly sliced
- 1 serrano pepper thinly sliced
- 1 cup lime juice
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Wash your fish fillet. I’m using red snapper for the ceviche.
- Cut into small cubes, no larger then an inch.
- Squeeze fresh lime, lemon and orange juices in a bowl. Add in the onion and Serrano pepper.
- Add in the snapper and salt. Let marinate for 2 hours.
- Garnish with cilantro.
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