Ceviche- the most popular South American food
Ceviche
Delicious, fresh Ceviche (this was with sea bass)
Ceviche is a classic South American raw fish dish (but ‘cooked’ a different way).
It uses raw fish and or seafood that has been marinated in lime juice and mixed with veggies and other ingredients. It is very popular throughout Central and South America and is even the national food of Peru.
Making fresh mixed ceviche on the beach
It is served in thousands of restaurants and food stands from Mexico to the bottom of Chile. Each place and region puts a different twist on their recipe and people (especially Peruvians) can be very competitive about the quality of their ceviche!
Ceviche can be made with many ingredients and there is even a vegetarian/vegan variety. The most popular versions of seafood ceviche include shrimp, clam and of course, fish.
Ceviche – note the dried corn in the bowl
The fish used in ceviche varies from place to place. For example, in Puno, Peru (Lake Titicaca) it is made with high altitude fresh water trout. Although, the Ceviche we ate on the beach in the surf town of Montañita was made with shrimp, octopus and corvina (sea bass). The vegetables differ as well; in Peru ceviche is often served with corn, however in Chile, bell peppers are commonly used. Ceviche is very healthy as it incorporates fresh vegetables and fish, giving you a healthy and delicious choice, (If you are vegan or vegetarian make sure to check out my Cevichochos recipe!).
Variations
One of the many ways that Ceviche can be eaten is with toasted corn tortillas. The tortillas are toasted and kept warm, then the ceviche added to have a mix of hot and cold. This recipe most likely comes from a Mexican twist on the dish. This goes to show how diverse and popular Ceviche really is.
Arepas with shrimp in Panama… spicy too!
Another popular option is adding ‘arepas’ or fried plantains (bananas). This is very popular in Colombia, Venezuela and Panama.
Ceviche is somewhat similar to a certain Japanese dish known as Sashimi (one of my favorites). This recipe also uses raw fish but the fish is not mixed with anything. It is often an appetizer in Japanese restaurants and frankly all around Japan.
Without further ado, this is Finn Twomey’s ceviche recipe.
Ingredients
– 1 pound of skinless white fish (snapper, sea bass, halibut, etc.)
– 1 1\4 cups of lime juice
– 2 diced tomatoes
– 1 cup of corn
– 1 onion, diced
– 1 bell pepper, diced
– 1 red chilli, diced (spicy-optional)
– 1 green chilli, diced (spicy-optional)
– 1 celery stalk, chopped
– Fresh mint (to taste)
– A couple sprigs of chopped coriander
– 1\3 of a cup of thinly sliced cilantro (leave a couple for garnish)
– Pinch of sugar
– Pinch of salt
– Dash of hot sauce or cayenne
Preparation
1. Dice the fish into small/medium cubes.
2. Place the fish into a bowl with the lime juice.
3. Add tomatoes, corn, onion, bell peppers, green and red chilli peppers, celery, mint, coriander, hot sauce, sugar and salt to the same bowl.
4. Tightly cover the bowl with saran wrap and place in fridge for at least 4 hours.
5. Once removed from fridge, add cilantro to the mixture.
6. Evenly divide the Ceviche into bowls or cups, add cilantro on top for garnish.
7. Serve cold and enjoy!
Dad’s favourite! Ceviche with plantains and popcorn on the side 🙂
Please follow and like us:
