ceviche (I’m so brave!)
August 5, 2011 § 3 Comments
I don’t really know what instilled such boldness in me, but I decided to “cook” a raw fish dish—ceviche! I was thinking about the several pounds of fresh fish sitting in James’ freezer trying to decide what to do with it, when I was struck with the crazy notion of making a dish I first tried in Chile. I couldn’t get over the delicious flavor (and the fact that the fish I was enjoying was actually raw!), and after looking around online, I was inspired by Elise on Simply Recipes. We used less fish than she called for. She called for 2 pounds, and I am guessing we used about 1.5. We also used trout instead of snapper.
Bad lighting (plus the fact that I was so hungry after waiting for my ceviche, and therefore impatient) means this ceviche probably doesn't look too appetizing, but I swear it tasted amazing!
Anyways, it was quite delicious! So packed with citrus flavor that complemented the fish and spice of the serrano perfectly. For those of you who don’t know what ceviche is: It’s fish that has sat (raw) in lemon and lime juices to “cook.” The fish goes from translucent and pink to opaque and white, which means it’s done. It’s very easy and delicious. But seriously, talking about making a raw fish dish and preparing yourself to eat the raw fish dish you just made are two completely different things. But we did it, and we’re alive and well! I’m just grateful James went along with it. Thanks, JJ!!
A few more deviations from Elise’s recipe: We didn’t include tomato because I forgot about it (ha!), but did include a serrano chile like she suggested, which added a great kick. Also, when I marinated the fish, I left out the red onion, because I had read that it caused the “cooking” process to take a bit longer, and I started marinating later in the afternoon than I had intended. I left it in the fridge for three hours altogether, which seemed to be the perfect amount of time. I served it with flour tortillas, red onion, sour cream, and avocado. The avocado and sour cream are a great way to cut the acidity and spice of the dish a bit.
Pretty ingredients.
And just for the record, the fish we ate was pretty darn fresh. James caught it a few weeks ago, and it was frozen immediately. We let it thaw that morning then cut it into 1/2-inch pieces before marinating. The fish (or shellfish) you make ceviche with must be as fresh as you can get it. Use the fish the day you purchase it.
Also, we didn’t eat it all, and the leftovers made delicious fish tacos the next day. We cooked the leftovers over high heat for about 10 minutes or so. It was obviously completely saturated in lemon and lime juice, so it took a few minutes for all the juice to cook down, so after it had cooked all that time, plus “cooked” in the citrus juices for hours beforehand, the meat was a bit tough, but the citrus flavor in it was phenomenal. We added some avocado, sour cream, cheese, and, of course, La Victoria Salsa Brava (our favorite).
Oh, and I like to heat the flour tortillas for the tacos. If we were cooking on a gas stove, I’d heat the tortillas directly over the flame. But I put just a dash of vegetable oil in a large pan over high heat and cooked the tortilla on each side.
Tada! This adds so much good flavor.
Oh, and just thought you all should get a look at this cuteness. That’s all!
Did Leroy get a ceviche taco?
dzuh! jk, he didn’t.
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