Peruvian Ceviche
This is a traditional Peruvian dish that is a summertime staple in our house. The raw fish is marinated in lemon juice for around 3 hours (or longer). Over this time the citric acid in the lemon 'cooks' the fish without heat. The texture is amazing, very tender, and melt in the mouth, the perfect introduction to eating raw fish. We love it, hopefully you will too (or already do). Although I have been making this recipe for many years, my sister lives in Peru and during her visit home last year she showed me a trick of two on how to make a 'true' Peruvian Ceviche.
Ingredients
- 500 g firm white flesh fish - I used Southern King fish - the key is fresh fresh fresh so ask you fishmonger
- lemon juice - enough to cover the fish this will depend on the juiciness of your lemons - I used 4 lemons
- generous pinch of sea salt
- ~ ~ ~ ~
- 2 chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 thinly sliced red onion
- finely chopped red chilli to taste - I used half a chilli
- handful of chopped flat leaf parsley or coriander
Instructions
- Cut the fish into small bite-sized pieces, about 1cm cubes. Put in a bowl and squeeze over the lemon juice until the fish is just covered. Add the salt and combine well. Now cover and put into the fridge for at least 3 hours (the longer the better, we find the leftovers for lunch the next day are the best). Give it a stir every now and again.
- When ready to serve, mix through the remaining ingredients. Check the seasoning, adding more salt if needed. Serve with Quinoa Salad - recipe follows.
Quinoa Salad {with fresh herbs, lemon juice + local extra virgin olive oil}
I think most people are familiar with Quinoa these days, it has been quite the popular food in magazines and cooking shows for some time. Just in case you haven't come across Quinoa (pronounced keen-waa), it is the seed from a plant related to the spinach and beetroot. It is extremely nutritious including calcium, magnesium, iron, complete protein, and is gluten-free. Quinoa originates in South America where it is grown predominantly in the Alta-Plano (high altitude plains) of Bolivia. It is used a lot in Peruvian fare so matches the ceviche perfectly. However my sister tells me traditionally ceviche is served with sweet potato (kumara).
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 1/2 cup water big handful of fresh herbs - I used flat leaf parsley coriander and mint
- 1 diced tomato
- 2 - 3 thinly sliced spring onions
- lemon juice to taste
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
- First wash the quinoa in a sieve to remove the bitter sanonin - a plant chemical that coats the seed. Now cook quinoa as you would white rice. That is, put the washed quinoa into a saucepan and cover with 1 1/2 cups cold water. Cover with a tight fitting lid and bring to the boil. Once boiling turn down the heat and leave to simmer for about 12 - 15 minutes until the water is absorbed and tunnels appear in the quinoa. Remove from the heat and leave to steam, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff and tip into a bowl.
- Meanwhile prepare the remaining ingredients. Chop the herbs roughly, dice the tomato and slice the spring onions. Mix this through the warm quinoa, squeeze over lemon juice (start with half a lemon) and drizzle generously with olive oil. Don't hold back on the lemon and olive oil you want the salad to be well dressed - lemony, herby and not at all dry. Check seasoning and serve immediately or cover and chill to take on a picnic or to a barbeque.
*Images in this post by Fraser Heal Video Production
Que Rico! Well Done Nic, such a wonderful video keep them coming!
Thanks Ana. It was fun and learning how to make them better as we go x
Yum! Made the quinoa salad and it was divine, even had some left over to take to work for lunch the next day with leftover lamb in a pita bread with home made aioli. 🙂
That is great Natalie. It is a staple in our house, so light and flavoursome. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Nicola Looking for the Quinoa salad recipe. There are two ceviche recipes instead.
Thanks