Nothing says Peru to me more, than ceviche. It is the quintessential party food for Peruvians. It gives me so much joy to be sharing this recipe with you guys today because it truly is one of my favorites. To me, ceviche is symbolic of family and great moments spent together– things that we will always treasure in life.
Recently, my parents, sister and boyfriend came to visit for Thanksgiving. We spent most of our time in the kitchen of course– cooking, eating, and laughing. There may have also been some dancing involved.
Peruvian ceviche is fish marinated in lime juice and fresh chiles. Since the fish essentially gets cured and cooked from the acid in the lime juice, it’s really important you use the freshest fish you can find. Ceviche can be served with boiled sweet potatoes, Peruvian corn, and lettuce. Today, we opted to use niblets of Peruvian corn that offer a toothsome contrast to the silky softness of the ceviche.
Notes
this is my dad’s original recipe for ceviche, and while i may be biased, it’s the best i’ve ever tasted. it’s super simple to make with minimal ingredients but because of that, it is imperative you use only the freshest fish available. choose your fish from a local monger you trust! we were lucky to have scored a super fresh one from whole foods market for this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 pounds fresh firm, white fish like walleye, snapper, seabass; skinned
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- s + p, to taste
- 1 medium red onion
- 4-6 juicy limes
- 1 serrano chile, seeded and deveined, minced
Instructions
- cut fish into thin, bite-size pieces and place in a shallow bowl. toss with garlic and s + p. cover with plastic wrap so it sits on the surface of the fish and then place a bag of ice on top. let this sit on the counter for about 30 minutes.
- thinly slice the red onion and put in a small bowl with cold water. let this sit for about 20-30 minutes; this helps soften the bite of the red onion.
- add the lime juice and serrano chile to the fish; toss gently. you want enough lime juice so that the fish is submerged. let this sit for another 20-25 minutes or until the fish is opaque (which means it has been “cooked†from the acid of the lime juice). taste for seasoning.
- to serve, top with red onion slices and open up a cold one! this is the perfect appetizer to kickstart a small get-together!
// More Peruvian party appetizer foodstuffs
I finally got around to making this. It was great! I did add some minced habanero because we like it extra spicy.
I have one question. The juice of my ceviche tasted more limey (tart?) than what I’m used to at Peruvian restaurants. Is that because of the type of lime or just because mine was super fresh and a restaurant’s may have been sitting for a lot longer?
Regardless, this will be my go-to ceviche recipe.
Thanks for making this available!
Jim