Ceviche with Fresh Salsa

This is possibly the best way to cook fish if you do not like to actually cook. Really fresh fish is an absolute must and the fish needs to be kept refrigerated, I have been known to store it on ice in the fridge during Summer. I purchase the fish from a specialist fish shop and always tell them that I want to eat it raw. This is definitely a dish that you make the same day as you purchase the fish.

The salsa is deliciously fresh and makes a great salad. I like to serve it with half an avocado and sometimes I use the leftover as a filling in a toasted tortilla wrap.

The fish is not cooked in the traditional sense. It relies on the acid in the lime juice to 'cook' the fish. I could get all technical and explain how the acid in the lime juice denatures the proteins in the fish, however, just accept that the process causes the flesh to become firm and change colour and makes the fish look cooked.

As with cooking it is easy to overdo it, too much time in the lime juice and the the fish will become tough. Very thin slices fish will only take twenty minutes. It is best to check the fish as it is in the lime juice.The fish can be removed from the lime juice and then refrigerated until you are ready to serve.

An Explanation of the Process

Raw fish in lime juice and a little salt.












Fish after time in the lime juice. In this case it was nearly four hours, the pieces were 2  cm dice.

The fish cubes cut in half, notice the outside looks cooked and the middle is still pink















the fish mixed in with the salsa








and as a wrap









also nice with a little kewpie mayonnaise in the wrap

The process again, this time with salmon

Fresh fillets of salmon.










Remove skin and divide portion into smaller pieces.

 
Slice each piece into 4-5 mm thick slices.










Place in the lime juice

This is how the salmon looks as it 'cooks' in the the lime juice. Anti clockwise, Top left, raw fish, bottom left, after 5 minutes, bottom right, after 10 minutes, top left after 20 minutes. Notice that the outside edges of the salmon become paler colour and the texture of the fish slightly firmer.

Ceviche with Fresh Salsa

400 g  very fresh firm fleshed fish* 1 cup lime juice 1 teaspoon salt Firm or fairly firm flesh such as rockling, marlin or salmon To Serve Optional Avocado / thin wraps Small amount of oil and lime juice mixed to a dreassing

Salsa 1/4 red capsicum, 1/2 Lebanese cucumber 1 mango, 1 tomato 2 spring onions 2 tablespoons chopped coriander 2 teaspoons grated green ginger 1 red chilli, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed Juice of 1 lime Freshly ground black pepper

Method

To Prepare Fish

Remove any dark flesh/blood line from the fish.

Slice fish into 5 mm thick slices / Dice fish into small cubes.

Cover fish with salt and lime juice, making sure fish is totally covered.

Cover with clingfilm or place in a container with a lid and place in refrigerator. The thicker the cubes of fish the longer it will take to ‘cook’ If the fish is very thin it will take less than an hour. More time is required for thicker cubes of fish.

Drain fish, discard the lime juice.

Assemble the Salsa

Finely dice the capsicum, cucumber, mango and tomato and thinly slice the spring onions. Mix salad ingredients together.

To serve
1. Slices arranged on a serving platter. When serving it this way I usually put a thin slice of avocado inbetween each slice of fish and then put the salsa on top and spoon  a little drizzle of lime juice or a dressing made with lime juice and oil over the plated fish. Serve immediately.

2. Combine fish with all the salad ingredients and mix carefully. Spoon over avocado if using or mound onto a plate or into a bowl. Serve immediately.

3. Use as a filling for a wrap.