How to Make Ceviche

July22

Here’s a great summertime dish you can “cook” without turning on the oven: Ceviche.

Ceviche-Mama's High Strung

Ceviche (also known as cebiche, sebiche or seviche) is a Latin American dish made with raw fish that is marinated in citrus juice, herbs and spices until the translucent flesh turns opaque and becomes firm.

In Peru (where many people believe this dish originated), tangy ceviche is traditionally eaten in the morning as an eye-opener (read that: hangover cure). Its ingredients are pretty simple: bitter orange juice, onions and thinly sliced hot peppers, like aji amarillo.

I prefer to make my ceviche the Mexican way, with lime juice, cilantro, jalapeños and a little garlic. I serve it on top of fresh crunchy greens. The taste is so fresh and healthy it’s one of my feel-good meals. It’s very easy to learn how to make ceviche!

A few ceviche tips:

  • Buy fresh firm-fleshed ocean fish like halibut, grouper, flounder or red snapper that won’t fall apart in the marinade.
  • Marinade until the fish loses its translucency, or for about 4-hours.
  • Soak the onions for a little bit to take the “bite” out, so they don’t step on the other flavors.
  • Remove the seeds and veins from the chili peppers to control the heat.

Funny how the thought of eating raw fish doesn’t sound as absurd as it did a decade ago because, for many of us, sushi and sashimi have become a regular part of our diets!

 

 


Plated + Served: Salt-Crusted Baked Fish

April1

Two reasons why you should roast a whole fish in a salt crust:

1. It’s incredibly easy.
2. The presentation is so impressive no one will believe how easy.

Two excuses that’ll keep you from even trying:

1. It’ll taste too salty and I’m trying to avoid sodium.
2. It’s too hard.

Okay, now take a look at the recipe. How hard is that? Not at all, right? And by the way, you bake the fish in the salt crust… you don’t actually eat the salt crust (so the fish is moist and tender, not at all salty).

Put this on the menu for this weekend… that’ll give you enough time to find a place that sells whole fish (don’t forget to ask them to gut, scale and take the fins off for you).

Now… stop making excuses and get going!Whole Red Snapper

 

Fish in Baked Crust

Cracking Open the Baked Crust

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi…
I’m Christina Chavez

I was a TV journalist for many years, but with a house full of kids I decided to come off the road, go to culinary school and follow my passion for cooking. Mama’s High Strung is all about food… everything from creative recipe ideas to some really cool kitchen gadgets and cooking tips. I live in Chicago, but I love to travel and write about my food discoveries! You can reach me by email: mamashighstrung@gmail.com