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Story and photography by Manos Angelakis
Ceviche
Ceviche (or cebiche, seviche, sebiche) is an appetizer dish very popular in the Pacific-coast countries of South America.
Made from raw fish, seafood, or other ingredients marinated in a citric bath of lime and/or lemon juice, shaved red onion, cilantro, salt and spices, it is a staple on the tables of Mexico, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and a number of the MesoAmerican countries. Each country has its own variation on the theme, the difference being the spiciness and length of time the fish or seafood is allowed to marinade and the additional ingredients included in the basic recipe. The marinating time can vary from just a few minutes – as when hangover suffering Chileños congregate at 4 o’clock in the morning at seafood stalls in Santiago’s Mercado Central – to 4 or 5 hours, as chefs in Ecuador and Peru prepare their appetizers. Ceviche is typically eaten at lunch. Shrimp, calamari and octopus are steamed for 30 seconds, prior to cooling with ice, then adding to the marinade. The shrimp is peeled and deveined prior to steaming and the heads and shells are used to make shrimp broth to cook rice.
In my peregrinations up and down South America’s western coast, I have tasted many ceviches. I like very much the ones I recently had in Ecuador, as they use  shrimp, octopus or squid as their seafood base, in a very mild lime, diced tomato and tomato-juice sauce. In Ecuador, I also tasted a ceviche made from large kernels of white corn (mote) accompanied by corn nuts, or fried green plantains. In Peru, they use lots of garlic and very spicy chili peppers, both fresh green and dried red, to spice the marinade, while the main ingredient is also mainly mixed seafood, with fish being secondary. A specialty in the northern coast of Peru is ceviche prepared from shark (tollo or tojo). In Chile, they use merluza (sea bass), locos (pounded abalone), star crab, or a blend of freshly shucked clams, mussels and sea urchin eggs (the traditional aforementioned hangover remedy) in addition to the seafood. In Mexico, I had ceviche with a very small tomato and cucumber dice, plus sliced serrano-peppers mixed in the marinade. And in Costa Rica, fresh hearts of palm and a super spicy pepper sauce were part of the recipe.
Leche de tigre (tiger milk), the leftover ceviche marinade, is often served in a small glass with the ceviche. Brightly colored from the spicy chili peppers, and sometimes mixed with Vodka or Pisco (Peru’s or Chile’s white lightning). Tiger’s milk is considered a great cure for hangovers by most South American cultures.
In my own kitchen, I use either sea bass or wild-caught salmon that I slice in narrow strips, salt and marinade for less than 5 hours. The citric bath that, in essence, cooks the fish is a blend of lemon and lime juice, with a splash of tomato-juice. I use in the marinade shaved red onion, cilantro, and sometimes celeriac matchsticks. Other times, for a fancier appearance and a slightly sweeter taste, I use fresh-peeled grapefruit or pomelo slices and hold the tomato-juice. I also use either a few drops of Tabasco or Sherry Pepper Sauce for a bit of a zing.
It is a simple dish to prepare but looks oh-so-exotic when served on a piece of red-leaf lettuce or a cup made from a small radicchio leaf. Rest the leaf on a bed of rock sea-salt or ice and add lime or lemon slices. You can add on the plate a side-shot of Pisco (very traditional in Chile) or a shot of Tequila.
Good appetite!
© May 2010 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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