Cebiche Don Fernando

It wasn’t until our second to the last day that we were in Peru before I had Peru’s signature dish: cebiche or ceviche but then it was an embarrassment of riches. We  were being treated like royalty  and lavished with generous hospitality. Pedro Franco and Charo Velazquez, good friends of my good friends,( one old, one new) Marta Nuñez and Maria Elena Cornejo, arranged a spectacular meal featuring many different kinds of cebiches and other traditional dishes at Don Fernando restaurant (see story.)

In one of the cebiches the fish was cut into thin slices and then topped with the finely chopped rocoto and aji amarillo peppers and  chopped red onion dressed with a little key lime juice and salt.  (Red onion is used in every dish I tasted in Peru instead of the more common Bermuda or white onion we use here.) The marinade was added right before serving.  You may want to let the fish rest in it for 15 minutes  so it can do it’s cebiche magic by  “cooking” the fish.  To clarify.  People often think that the lime or other acidic liquid actually cooks the fish but, in truth, the fish  only looks  and feels as if it is cooked: The flesh becomes translucent and firm to the touch. I wrote an article about the process for the Los Angeles Times way back when on the subject of ceviches and escabeches. (Check it out!)

Another interesting thing I learned from chef Arturo Fernando Vera Horna is that they use equal parts of white wine vinegar and key lime juice.   They do not mix the ingredients together but rather pour a little of each over the  fish.  I prefer to combine them for consistency.  I like a Swiss vinegar under the brand-name Kresse. It is mild and slightly floral and you may prefer a simpler but good quality white vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil  not a usual ingredient.  Ceviches are normally served with rounds or kernels of the wonderful corn called choclo. and slices of roasted yams.

1/2 pound very fresh cod, black sea bass. tilapia or red snapper filets, cut into 1/8-inch slices

3 garlic cloves, ground or very finely chopped

1/3 cup good quality white vinegar

1/3 cup freshly squeezed key lime juice, or use 1/4 cup Persian lime juice

1/3 cup finely chopped red onion mixed with 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup finely diced rocoto peppers

Cilantro leaves (optional)

Salt to taste

Arrange fish slices in a serving platter or individual plates.

Combine the garlic cloves, vinegar, lime juice and salt to taste.  Let sit for 115 minutes.

Sprinkle the fish with chopped ingredients and pour marinade over. decorate with cilantro leaves if desired. You can serve the cebiche immediately or let it sit for 15 minutes.