Ceviche My Way
Made some ceviche this weekend, hoping not to poison my friends. It was nontoxic! Also, the most pleasing and satisfying part of that is how cheap it is to make it yourself. Second to that, but no less appealing, is freshness. I don't know how long ceviche has been hanging around some grade B restaurant. Maybe this morning, maybe last week. Who knows? Do you know? I don't know. They could bleach it and serve it for three months. Craggy, grey, rotten stalagmites of carrion. Like Elizabeth Taylor. Do you want to eat Elizabeth Taylor? I don't want to eat Elizabeth Taylor. I will issue this edict -or fatwah, if you will- that Gastrologica's official position is to never advocate eating Elizabeth Taylor, Ruth Buzzy or Abe Vigoda, ad infinitum.
Cheviche is so simple, even Paris Hilton could make it...if she got off her back long enough. Most people are frightened beyond rational comprehension to eat it, let alone make it. Ceviche, that is. The fish is cooked by acid rather than heat. Do you remember the scene in Logan's Run where the Hover Segway sprayed vapor on the corpse, and it dissolved in a really low budget way? That's absolute proof that acid is just as effective as heat to cook things.
That doesn't mean I think lime juice and rib roast would marry well, but fish is the perfect protein, and not just any old fish. The best fish to use is a firm, white meat fish. Pacific Snapper is the standard, but halibut and cod could be substituted.
Ceviche is by no means raw fish, so it shouldn't be viewed as such. The acid from limes and lemons creates an inhospitable environment to virulent parasites, like Gloria Alred. Ceviche is really only good for a day or two, I never eat cheviche that is older than two days. So, with that fanfare, here are the simple ingredients for this dish:
Tomato
Onion
Cilantro
3 limes
1 lemon
filet of pacific snapper
salt
pepper
Cut the tomato, onion and fish into a medium dice. Shape and consistency really matter because this is such a vivid dish of contrasts. Juice all the fruits into a bowl, and toss in what you diced. Salt and pepper to taste. Finally, rough chop the cilantro and add.
The ceviche should marinade about six hours before serving. I'm not very squeamish about raw food, so I take an immediate taste after mixing to adjust the flavor. Everything will develop over time, so you want to get the balance right in the beginning of the process. To add a bit of excitement, I will brunoise a habanero and sprinkle that in, excepting the pith and seeds. Again, the marinade will mellow even that.
For another nice twist, you can tiki it up by adding coconut milk. Fan slices of avocado in overlapping leaves around a martini glass, spoon in the ceviche and garnesh with a lime wedge.
What would you drink with this? A fruity sangria, of course.
1 bottle of cheap red wine, Two Buck Chuck is good.
1 orange
1 apple
rum
ginger ale
sugar
orange juice
Dean Martin would have loved this as a morning pick-me-up. Into a standard pitcher, empty the wine, add enough OJ and ginger ale to bring it about an inch or two from the top. Add the sliced oranges and apples, 1/2 cup sugar and a couple splashes of rum.
If you aren't a fruity wine drinker, any light Mexican beer will pair well. I would even suggest a Singha or Tsintao, since Asian beers pair very well with seafood.
Cheviche is so simple, even Paris Hilton could make it...if she got off her back long enough. Most people are frightened beyond rational comprehension to eat it, let alone make it. Ceviche, that is. The fish is cooked by acid rather than heat. Do you remember the scene in Logan's Run where the Hover Segway sprayed vapor on the corpse, and it dissolved in a really low budget way? That's absolute proof that acid is just as effective as heat to cook things.
That doesn't mean I think lime juice and rib roast would marry well, but fish is the perfect protein, and not just any old fish. The best fish to use is a firm, white meat fish. Pacific Snapper is the standard, but halibut and cod could be substituted.
Ceviche is by no means raw fish, so it shouldn't be viewed as such. The acid from limes and lemons creates an inhospitable environment to virulent parasites, like Gloria Alred. Ceviche is really only good for a day or two, I never eat cheviche that is older than two days. So, with that fanfare, here are the simple ingredients for this dish:
Tomato
Onion
Cilantro
3 limes
1 lemon
filet of pacific snapper
salt
pepper
Cut the tomato, onion and fish into a medium dice. Shape and consistency really matter because this is such a vivid dish of contrasts. Juice all the fruits into a bowl, and toss in what you diced. Salt and pepper to taste. Finally, rough chop the cilantro and add.
The ceviche should marinade about six hours before serving. I'm not very squeamish about raw food, so I take an immediate taste after mixing to adjust the flavor. Everything will develop over time, so you want to get the balance right in the beginning of the process. To add a bit of excitement, I will brunoise a habanero and sprinkle that in, excepting the pith and seeds. Again, the marinade will mellow even that.
For another nice twist, you can tiki it up by adding coconut milk. Fan slices of avocado in overlapping leaves around a martini glass, spoon in the ceviche and garnesh with a lime wedge.
What would you drink with this? A fruity sangria, of course.
1 bottle of cheap red wine, Two Buck Chuck is good.
1 orange
1 apple
rum
ginger ale
sugar
orange juice
Dean Martin would have loved this as a morning pick-me-up. Into a standard pitcher, empty the wine, add enough OJ and ginger ale to bring it about an inch or two from the top. Add the sliced oranges and apples, 1/2 cup sugar and a couple splashes of rum.
If you aren't a fruity wine drinker, any light Mexican beer will pair well. I would even suggest a Singha or Tsintao, since Asian beers pair very well with seafood.
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