Ceviche
- 1 lb fresh, skinless snapper, bass, halibut, or other ocean fish fillets, or even small shrimp, cut into 1/2-inch dice, into thin strips, feel free to experiment!
- 1 1/2 cups fresh lime juice
- 1 medium white onion, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 medium-large tomatoes (about 1 pound), chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
- Fresh hot green chiles (2 to 3 serranos or 1 to 2 jalapeños), stemmed, seeded and finely chopped (you might want to cut the pieces a bit larger so people can pull them out!)
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, plus a few leaves for garnish
- 2 tbsps Keller Estate extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt
- 1 large avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
- Tostadas, tortilla chips or saltine crackers, for serving
In a 1 1/2-quart glass or stainless steel bowl, combine the fish, lime juice and onion. Use enough juice to cover the fish and allow it to float freely; too little juice means unevenly “cooked” fish. Cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours until a cube of fish no longer looks raw when broken open. Drain in a colander.
In a large bowl, mix together the tomatoes, green chiles, cilantro, olives and optional olive oil. Stir in the fish and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon. Add the orange juice or sugar. Cover and refrigerate if not serving immediately. Just before serving, gently stir in the diced avocado.
Remember I said you could do it ahead of time?
The fish may be marinated a day in advance; after about 4 hours, when the fish is “cooked,” drain it so that it won’t become too tangy. For the freshest flavor, add the flavorings to the fish no more than a couple of hours before serving.
NOTES:
There are many ways to serve ceviche. Here are some of our family’sfavorites: Place the ceviche in a large bowl and let people spoon it onto individual plates to eat with tortilla chips or saltines; spoon the ceviche into small bowls and serve tostadas, chips or saltines alongside; or pile the ceviche onto chips or tostadas and pass around for guests to consume on these edible little plates. Garnish the ceviche with cilantro leaves before serving.
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