Ceviche; Daring Cooks March 2011
Ceviche…. for the name alone you should be liking this dish! I think it sounds exotic and fun and people look at you like you know what you’re talking about when you pronounce it correctly.. 🙂 I had heard about this dish before, read about it but never actually tried it. I have to be honest here as the prospect of having raw fish only marinated in limejuice did not exactly make me go ‘wow!’ But it has been waaaay to long since I last done a Daring Cooks challenge, so I figured it was time to try this elegant little dish.
Kathlyn of Bake Like a Ninja was our Daring Cooks’ March 2011 hostess. Kathlyn challenges us to make two classic Peruvian dishes: Ceviche de Pescado from “Peruvian Cooking – Basic Recipes” by Annik Franco Barreau. And Papas Rellenas adapted from a home recipe by Kathlyn’s Spanish teacher, Mayra.
I have to confess that I took the easy way out in this challenge. I could either make cevice and/or papas rellenas and while I think I probably like the papas even better it also involves more work and well, I wanted to make sure I did at least post the challenge on time this time. So I opted for the ceviche. I have to say that this is very straightforward and easy dish to make. Most important is that you use very fresh fish. The quality of the fish will determine your end result and if it’s tasty or not. Old fish will simply not do…
I bought cod for this at our fish monger and made sure they gave me very fresh fish (not that they normally sell old fish, but I have had a rather disputable piece of tuna once so I am a little careful here!)
Adding the other ingredients was also simple, so I cannot say that his was a real challenge in terms of difficulty. I do like that Kathlyn picked this dish as otherwise I would probably have never made it myself. So now over to the taste. As is to be expected the taste is sour, but I also found it surprisingly tasty. Definitely not a dish I would make as a main but perfect for a refreshing and little starter!
Ceviche; Daring Cooks March 2011
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. about 1 kg firm white fish (scallops or other seafood may be substituted)*
- 2 garlic cloves mashed
- 1 chili pepper minced (I recommend Aji if you can find it, but Jalapeno or other peppers can sub)
- 1 cup 240 ml freshly squeezed lime juice (between 8-12 limes)
- Fresh juice only no bottled. Can use lemons in lieu of limes.
- 1 tablespoon 15 ml (4 grams) (1/8 oz) fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
- 1 red onion thinly sliced lengthwise
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil sweet potato and corn (separately) if using for garnish. Allow to cool. (Can be done hours or even a day in advance)
- Wash and trim your fish. Slice into pieces between ½ inch (15 mm) cubes to 2 inch (50mm) pieces, depending on taste.
- Place fish in a non-reactive, shallow pan in a thin layer. Season with salt and pepper.
- Combine lime juice, chili pepper, coriander and garlic. Pour mixture over fish. Stir lightly to expose all the fish to some of the lime juice mixture.
- Put sliced onion on top of fish as it “cooks”
- Let fish stand for 10 minutes.*** Lift fish out of the lime juice and plate individual portions , garnishing with lettuce, slices of sweet potato and slices or kernels of corn if using.
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
