Recipe: Ceviche

I think at some point when I was younger, I got really turned off off fish.  I also think it was probably the picking bones out of my mouth that was the real issue - maybe some unconscious fear of stabbing myself in the throat.  Thankfully, growing up in Vancouver, it was only a matter of time before I was introduced to sushi - thanks Mom.  Simple rolls were the introduction, then sashimi - my savior!  Pieces of delicious and bone-free fish - the "uncooked" part of the equation didn't even phase me.  The appeal of cooked fish was still slow on the recovery, though.  "What does all this have to do with ceviche?" you ask - well, just as I was about to proclaim some sort of "raw fish or no fish" pledge, I was fed some ceviche, loved it, thought about it, and came to the conclusion that while there's nothing wrong with a beautifully cooked fish, personally am naturally inclined to seafood that is prepared with mimimal or no heat - to me the overall flavour and texture profile does the fish the most justice.  Gravlax (of all kinds of fish), smoked salmon (again, all fish), Indian candy, tartare - all alternative preparations I love.  Of course, many of these dishes require storage space and time and equipment (smoker) to do at home, but ceviche, this can be done at a moments notice.  Play with your citrus fruits - I haven't listed it in this recipe, but pink grapefruit works great to switch things up a bit.

You will need:

1lb / 450g      fish (usually a whitefish - scallops are great) cut into small pieces
4                    limes
2                    lemons
1                    orange
to taste          sugar
to taste          kosher salt
1-2                jalapenos (seeded and finely diced)
1                   red pepper (seeded and finely dice)
1                   tomato (seeded and finely diced)
1/2 bunch     cilantro (julienne across the leaves)
1                   shallot (finely diced)
to taste         cracked black pepper
                     tostadas (suggested)
                     sour cream or crema (suggested)
1/2 head       iceberg lettuce (sliced fine)

Method:

 - juice your citrus fruits and combine the juices
 - mix in sugar to taste and to tame the acididy a bit
 - mix in the salt (it should be tasty and make you think of margaritas)
 - add in the shallot
 - prepare the vegetables and cut the fish if you haven't already
 - add the fish to the juice and mix it up well - "cook" it to your liking (depending on taste, anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes)
 - drain off any excess juice (optional, but I like to)
 - mix in the peppers, cilantro, and tomato and season with black pepper and you're ready to go
 - to serve, spread some of the cream on a tostada, add some shredded lettuce, top with ceviche and open a beer (just a suggestion)