← Nouns Cooking · Brazilian & Peruvian

Ingredients

• 500 g very fresh, sushi-grade firm white fish (sea bass, halibut or mahi-mahi), skinned and boned
• 1 Red onion, sliced paper-thin
• 1 ají limo or red chilli (habanero for heat), seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tsp Ginger, finely grated (optional)
• 1 clove Garlic, finely grated (optional)
• 10 limes (about 150 ml juice)
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt
• 3 ice cubes
• 3 tbsp Coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 1 Sweet potato, peeled and cut into thick rounds (optional)
• 1 corn cob, cut into rounds (optional)

Method

1. If serving the sides, boil the sweet potato and corn in salted water for 15–20 min, until tender, then drain and cool.
2. Soak the sliced onion in iced water for 10 min to make it crisp and milder, then drain and pat dry.
3. Cut the fish into 2 cm cubes and put them in a chilled glass or ceramic bowl. Keep everything as cold as possible. Sprinkle with the salt and toss gently.
4. Add the chilli, ginger and garlic. Squeeze the limes by hand straight over the fish (pressing too hard makes the juice bitter), add the ice cubes and stir gently.
5. Leave for 2–5 min, until the outside of the fish turns opaque while the centre stays tender, or up to 15 min if you like it firmer. Remove the ice.
6. Fold in the onion and coriander, taste for salt and serve immediately with the sweet potato and corn. Sip the leftover juice (leche de tigre) from a small glass.

Tips

• Lime juice does not kill bacteria or parasites the way heat does. Buy fish sold for raw eating from a trusted fishmonger, keep it ice-cold and eat it straight away. Ceviche is not advised for pregnant people, young children, older adults or anyone with a weakened immune system.
• Use glass, ceramic or stainless steel bowls: the acid reacts with aluminium.
• If you use ají limo or habanero, wear gloves to seed and chop it, and keep your hands away from your eyes.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Eat Peru Peru Delights Fine Dining Lovers