I LOVE ceviche! It’s one of my favourite ways to eat fish. The refreshing dish of fish marinated in citrus juice reminds me a lot of summer time. It’s light and bright. Plus, it requires no heat to cook, so you don’t have to worry about turning on your oven or stove. Ceviche is surprisingly easy to prepare. When making it at home, there are just a few key things to keep in mind. The most important is to use the freshest fish possible and beyond that it’s all about the marinating process, which works sort of like pickling. Being here in Costa Rica, we’ve had an abundance of seafood. Today we bought Mahi Mahi, so I thought I’d make ceviche.
A Few Key Things…
Most fish works for ceviche, but the best kinds are semi-firm white-fleshed ocean fish like sea bass, striped bass, grouper, sole or flounder. Stay away from oily fish like mackerel, sardines, tuna, bluefish or jack. Freshwater fish like trout or catfish don’t really work either.
When making ceviche, it’s important that the different components are evenly sized so they marinate evenly. This also helps with presentation and ease of eating. The fish should preferably be chopped into large, even chunks or sliced into thin pieces. The vegetables, such as peppers or onions, are best diced. But you can, for presentation sake, slice the onions very thinly.
It’s best to keep the fish separate from the vegetables until you’re ready to serve. This prevents the vegetables or the fish from turning mushy and keeps the different colors (especially if you’re using red onions) from bleeding together.
What You’ll Need
2lb of white fish fillets, cut into small square pieces 2 onions diced very finely (you can use red or white onions) 4 tomatoes diced very finely 2 bell peppers, chopped very finely 20 limes, separated into about 10 limes to cook the fish and 10 limes for the ceviche marinade 1 bunch of cilantro (also known as coriander) chopped as finely as possible Salt
What You’ll Need To Know
Place the raw fish pieces in a glass dish and cover it with salt and lime juice from about 10-12 limes, the fish should be completely covered by lime juice. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator, let the fish marinate or cook itself in the lime juice for at least 4 hours. Mix the onions, tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro with the juice from the remaining limes and let marinate for about an hour. Once the fish is “cooked” in the lime juices rinse it well and mix it with the vegetable marinade, add salt, to taste. Serve with plantain or tortilla chips or simple eat with a salad.
Zesty Ceviche
Recipe Type
:
Side, Main, Salad
Cuisine:
Latin American, fish, seafood, healthy, raw
Prep time:
15 mins
Cook time:
20 mins
Total time:
35 mins
Serves:
4
Ingredients
-
2lb of white fish fillets, cut into small square pieces
-
2 onions diced very finely (you can use red or white onions)
-
4 tomatoes diced very finely
-
2 bell peppers, chopped very finely
-
20 limes, separated into about 10 limes to cook the fish and 10 limes for the ceviche marinade
-
1 bunch of cilantro (also known as coriander) chopped as finely as possible
-
Salt
Instructions
-
Place the raw fish pieces in a glass dish and cover it with salt and lime juice from about 10-12 limes, the fish should be completely covered by lime juice. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator, let the fish marinate or cook itself in the lime juice for at least 4 hours. Mix the onions, tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro with the juice from the remaining limes and let marinate for about an hour. Once the fish is “cooked” in the lime juices rinse it well and mix it with the vegetable marinade, add salt, to taste. Serve with plantain or tortilla chips or simple eat with a salad.
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