Fruit Ceviche

This will make A LOT… enough for at least 6 normal people… 4 if you have to feed a Miracle Ed…
Measurements are iffy at best… Like I said, I cook by feel…

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 lb. of super fresh fish, cubed
    It needs to have some body to it, too. For instance, I used 1 lb. of scrod and 0.5 lb of swordfish and it turned out great.
    Other options include sea bass, scallops, tuna, conch… and so on.
  • 3 largish limes, juice of
  • 1 large lemon, juice of
  • Maybe ½ cup orange juice or better yet: 1 medium orange, juice of
  • 2 large cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium habañero pepper, minced
    Please! Remember the habañero is one of the hottest peppers known to mankind. WASH YOUR HANDS WELL after you handle the pepper. Alcohol helps get the capsaicin off your hands, too.
  • 1 Santa Fe Grande pepper, diced
    Any pepper with some sweetness and a bit of heat is good. I’ve rarely seen these labeled at the grocery. They usually look like red jalepeños.
  • 1 onion, diced
    The type of onion is a personal preference. I used a plain yellow onion, but a red onion or a sweet Vidalia would have been great.
  • 1 mango, cubed
  • 1 avocado, cubed (similarly)
  • 3 plum tomatoes, diced
  • 1 can of pineapple slices, chunked or better yet: ½ of a fresh pineapple, chunked
  • Salt to taste
  • Dried pepper flakes to taste

Directions:

  1. Place fish cubes in a large glass bowl (glass is definitely preferred, considering we’re working with fish and acid), lightly salting and sprinkling with pepper flakes.
  2. Add garlic and habañero, fold to distribute evenly.
  3. Cover the fish with citrus juices. Stir the fish gently to make sure there aren’t any dry spots / air bubbles.
  4. Refrigerate and let stand for at least 4 hours.
    (I left mine for almost 20 hours as a matter of convenience.)
  5. Strain fish in a colander. Let stand while preparing fruit, etc. to drain excess liquid.
  6. Mix all other ingredients in a large bowl. Add the fish. Stir/fold gently.
    (The avocado will dissolve to varying degrees, depending on how ripe it is… Be gentle to keep this to a minimum.)
  7. Put it back in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
    (Just long enough to make sure it’s nice an cool is good)
  8. Serve with tortilla chips (I baked my own.) and sangria.

OK, OK… I know the idea of fish being “cooked� by citrus juice may seem strange, but it really works. You’ll be amazed.

Please try it and let me know how it turned out.