White Fish Ceviche
(for one)
This recipe is from back in the days at our old restaurant Le Jolifou.
I honestly cannot remember how I came up with this recipe, though I know I did. It appears every year on our menu in the spring. Like a song you can only remember the lyrics once you start singing it, the ceviche recipe comes back to me as I make it for the first time each year. Relying on intuition and motion memory, more than what is printed on a page. Hence the following long-windedness of a short recipe.
100gr White Fish (Orange roughy, cod, halibut. Not Tilapia, just on principle).
Mojo
¼ teaspoon of ground cumin
¼ clove of garlic finely grated
1 orange, zested then juiced
1 lime, zested then juiced
Rice Vinegar Vinaigrette
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup neutral oil (canola)
8 – 10 Cilantro leaves
¼ serrano chili chopped
¼ cup toasted shredded sweet coconut
Salt
Clean hands
Ceviches are like tartars, they can have many different ingredients and flavours. Most importantly, they need to balance. Each ingredient should say ‘Hello!’ loud enough to be heard yet remain respectful of their surrounding friends; no ingredient should scream like a narcissist on Cable tv.
To find this balance you will have to taste and think about what you are eating. Listen to what the tastes are saying. Are they asking for more acidity? Do they wish to have more salt to punch up the flavours? Maybe the salt and acid are too high, and it is crying for the sweetness of the coconut. The food you cook is always talking to you, learn to listen to its voice. This is a good recipe for practicing your listening skills.
Cut the fish into pieces about the size of half your baby finger. Put in a mixing bowl and back into the fridge.
Mix the ingredients for the mojo together. You might not use all of the mojo, so remember it is a great short marinade for grilled meat and seafood. It is best used within a couple of days.
For the vinaigrette, boil the sugar and rice vinegar until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool and add oil. Like the mojo, you might not need all of it. It is a great dressing for salads on the fruitier side.
Serrano’s look like a jalapeno but are more tapered. Their heat dissipates after eating, whereas a Jalapeno’s heat mounts with each bite. The serrano also has a nice green taste, but not too bitter.
Toast the coconut in a sauce pan on a burner, stirring with a wooden spoon until golden, or spread out on a cooking sheet and place in the oven. Unsweetened coconut just does not work. Sorry.
Ok, here we go…
Add salt (a good two pinches), mojo, and half the toasted coconut to the fish in the mixing bowl.
Using your clean hand, massage the ingredients into the fish by squeezing it in your fist. Release and mix, and squeeze again. This seemingly abusive act helps the salt enter the fish and tenderizes at the same time.
Add the chili, cilantro, and a dash of vinaigrette, toss and squeeze a little more, then give a first taste. If it is flat in flavour, add mojo and salt. If it sparkles, then it is good to be finished. If it does not sparkle, think about why? What direction it needs to go to make it so.
You can let it stand for about ten minutes if you need time to do other things, like serve wine or tend to the bbq.
Just before serving, add the other half of the coconut. This keeps a bit of crunch from the coconut in the dish. The first coconut will have softened.
Serve the ceviche in a pile, maybe add a leaf or two of cilantro on top. Then pour any liquid left in the bowl over the ceviche (this liquid is called ‘tigre leche’ in Peru, where ceviche is from, and is said to possess powers of virility)
I suggest using frozen fish. The main reason is safety. Frozen fish are less likely to have any nasty things. The fish is frozen to such a low temperature that it kills most bacteria and any bad stuff (stuff being the technical kitchen term for parasites, blah blah). Moreover, because the fish is being mutilated, using frozen or fresh, makes little difference.
…. enjoy