Ceviche, also known as Cebiche or seviche, which involves immersing delicate raw fish in aromatic citrus juices, is essentially fish that is slowly “cooked” by marinating in the acid of citrus juice.
Like carpaccio, ceviche is a raw fish recipe; this is why it’s very important to use extremely fresh and high-quality fish to prepare it.
This recipe has been adapted from the one my friend Andrés Navarro has given to me.
The citrus-marinated seafood dish originated in Peru and is thought to be a development from Spanish escabeche, which is a vinegar-marinated dish.
But in reality, ceviche is so popular that every city, town, village, and family throughout Central and South America and Mexico make their own unique ceviche recipe using local fish and their favourite ingredients. One bite, and it’s not difficult to see why.
Ceviche can also be made with chillies, avocados, mangoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, or finely diced onion.
As long as you’ve got a mega fresh fish, it’s an absolute dream and delight to make and eat. Easy, healthy and flavourful! It is so very filling. I really truly absolutely loved this.
Enjoy it on a hot day—or anytime you want to daydream about South American travels.
This Peruvian ceviche pairs a high-quality fish filet (salmon or tilapia or other white saltwater fish or anything else you would see on a sashimi menu of your choice) with lemon or lime juice, onions, and cilantro.
Cilantro - fresh chopped, stems removed, optional to taste
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Instructions
Make sure the fish is as fresh as possible! Once you’ve got your fresh fish back home, ice it down. Place it in the freezer or on ice for just a bit (enough to be firm, but NOT freeze). This will make it easier to work with later.
Remove the skin and bones from the fish, as well as the bloodline before cutting it up. The bloodline is the dark red portion of the fillet; if left on the fillet, your ceviche will have a very fishy flavour.
Wash and dry it and have a sharp knife for slicing.
Cut each fillet into long, narrow pieces that are about 5cm/2” wide. Rinse your knife under cold water between each slice; this keeps the delicate fish flesh intact.
Now you can make the chunks. Rather than chopping straight down with the knife, hold the blade at a 45-degree angle to make the slices. Be sure to follow the muscle fibre of the fish.
Keep the slices about 0.6-1 cm/0.25-0.4” thick.
Put in a non-reactive (glass or plastic) container and then add freshly squeezed seedless lemon and/or lime juice until the fish is totally submerged, and toss the fish until everything is evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate until the fish is opaque and “cooked” through. This usually takes about 3-4 hours. Very large pieces of fish can take longer to marinate fully.
In the meanwhile, scald the sliced onion twice.
Just throw boiled water on it, leave 5 minutes, drain, rinse with cold water, drain and repeat the process. Or leave the sliced onion soaked in salt ice water for at least 30 minutes. This will give it a smoother flavour and reduces their bitterness and pungency.
When ready to serve, drain off the excess lemon and/or lime juice and gently mix in the remaining ingredients.
Peruvian Ceviche usually includes some hot pepper (real Peruvian Aji Amarillo or habanero chile, if you can find it). Feel free to add it seeded, halved lengthwise, if you like. It can be added to adjust for your spice preferences.
At this point, you will want to season to taste with salt.
Divide ceviche among small clear glass bowls, or small glasses such as wine glasses or martini glasses for an appetizer, or with tender greens for a light, refreshing meal.
Garnish with sesame seeds if you like or with your favourite herbs such as cilantro, parsley or green onions.
Notes
Harmonize with the right beverageA good ceviche goes very well with a cold beer. But for those who, like me, don’t like beer, white wine and sparkling wine are also excellent matching options.Always serve in individual portions and cold.A hot or warm ceviche is not a ceviche. Therefore, always be careful to serve it well cold to enhance its flavours.Also, I always prefer to present it in individual portions. It’s nicer and concentrates its flavours and aromas.Secrets to Reduce the Sharpness and Pungency of Raw OnionsRaw onions are incredibly healthy, but even the biggest onion lovers are familiar with the feeling of an over-assertive onion and the raw sharpness that it carries with it.Adding ice and salt to the water gives the onions crispiness, which can breathe new life into older onions, or turn fresh onions into the perfect crunchy condiment. Just leave the onions in the salt ice water for at least 15 minutes, and you'll have remarkably less intense onions.A baking-soda solution (1 tablespoon per cup of water) for at least 15 minutes is also good. Just be sure to rinse the onions thoroughly before using to remove any soapy baking-soda taste.Do NOT use vinegar or milk. The vinegar soak does rid the onions of much of their burn, but it is replaced by an equally strong sour taste, even after thorough rinsing. And Milk is also very effective at removing the sulphur compounds, but it leaves the onions tasting washed-out.Scalding (my favourite): If you don't want to wait the 15 minutes, this is the quickest route: put the chopped onions in a bowl, then throw boiled water on it, leave 5 minutes, drain, rinse with cold water, drain and repeat the process.This will give it a smoother flavour and reduces its pungency.Is ceviche raw?Ceviche certainly looks cooked, and a lot of people think it is.Technically, ceviche is still raw. But Ceviche is not sashimi, as the raw fish marinates, the acid from the citrus juice breaks down the proteins in the fish’s muscle fibres. Common wisdom says the lime juice “cooks” the fish―partially or completely, depending on how long it is marinated.The acid changes the flesh's structure and gives it a texture similar to traditionally cooked, opaque and firm fish, just as if it had been cooked with heat. This chemical process is called denaturation.Even though the citrus juice changes the fish's texture, much like gravlax, poke, or smoked salmon, you’d still be eating raw fish. That means the acid does not kill bacteria and parasites as well as heat does, so you should make every effort to find and start with the best possible quality, the freshest, cleanest fish you can find.What type of fish should you buy for ceviche?As with all dishes, the freshness of the ingredients make the difference, so pay special attention to it. I usually make it with fresh salmon, but you can use whitefish such as tilapia, grouper, sea bass, Corvina, albacore, sole, snapper, halibut, or anything else you would see on a sashimi menu. But if you find it, make it with fresh scallops. If ceviche is already really good, you can imagine with fresh sea scallops!When shopping for fresh salmon or any other fish, it’s important to have a reputable fish market you trust that can recommend the best cuts for your ceviche. And it’s very, very important when you’re planning on consuming raw fish.Always look for sashimi-grade fish, which has been gutted and cleaned on the boat, and ask the market for salmon which can be eaten raw.Farmed salmon has a lower occurrence of parasites, while many prefer the lean flavour of wild salmon… but that’s entirely up to you. It doesn’t matter what kind of salmon you buy— wild or farmed—as long as the fish has been frozen according to the FDA’s freezing guidelines.The guidelines require fish to be frozen at -4 degrees or below for at least 7 days. Commercial deep freezing at low temperatures kills off any potential parasites in the flesh that would otherwise be killed with traditional heat cooking. Better safe than sick.For serving:Ceviche can be eaten on its own as a wonderful snack.
Serve a type of tuber with your ceviche recipe, which helps balance the flavours of the recipe. You can opt for purees, chips or even pieces of sweet potato, yam or cassava.
Peruvian ceviche is typically served on a lettuce leaf (or with lettuce leaves on the side), with boiled choclo (Peruvian corn) or corn, with baguette, cancha corn (toasted corn nuts) or Andean style corn nuts, slices of boiled sweet or white potato, chifles de platano (fried plantain chips) or green plantain chips.
Lettuce, corn, avocado or other cold salad vegetables on the side or lettuce wraps.
In tacos, corn tortilla chips, tostadas, or saltine crackers - although you won't find tortilla chips in Peru.
Diced or sliced hot peppers
Olive oil
Lime slices
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Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.
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Baking is easier than frying, as you don’t need to stand at the stove and actively cook it. You just put the fish in the oven or air fryer and take it out when it’s ready – so easy! You can multitask while the fish is baking – for example, make the salad!
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