That’s 3 generations of serious fish hunters right there: My great-grandfather, my grandfather, and my father. So when WanderLush Diary’s Lanee Lee asked me if I had a ceviche recipe handy for Peru’s National Ceviche Day this Friday, it took me about 2 seconds to pull it up from my dad’s fish recipe files. Ceviche – cooking raw fish in citrus juice – was probably brought to Peru by Moorish women from Granada, and then made its way to South America with the Conquistadors.
This Friday, June 28th, the Peruvians are honoring their most famous national dish with “Dia Nacional del Cebiche” – National Ceviche Day. Ceviche was officially declared part of Peru’s cultural heritage in 2004, receiving its own day in 2008.
In my family, our history with Ceviche originates in Turkey, where my grandfather was stationed in the 1960s, and where my father first learned to free-dive. Free-diving is hunting underwater with no air tank, just holding your breath and a spear gun. When my family later settled in Santa Barbara, California, the spear guns and the love of fresh fish came with them. On my father’s many trips down to Mexico, he picked up his favorite recipe for Ceviche – then tweaked it to be made on the boat, with fish caught minutes before.
You may not have a boat handy, and if you’re like me, you’re not too keen on actually killing your dinner, but for ceviche – at least find sushi-grade fresh fish. Since there’s no heat involved in the cooking process to kill bacteria, the fish needs to be as fresh as possible.
Dad’s Ceviche
You Need: 2 large plastic ziplock bags
Bag 1:
- Any fresh white fish or tuna (white sea bass is our favorite), chopped into cubes
- Juice from 4-6 limes and 4 lemons
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4th tsp garlic, finely grated
- 1/4th tsp Ginger, finely grated
- 2-4 Tbsp Aji Amarillo paste or 2-4 Aji Limo (or Thai Chili), with seeds removed, finely chopped.
Bag 2:
- 8 to 12 roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 bunch of Cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 white onion, chopped fine
- Optional: Cucumber or celery, chopped fine.
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in Bag 1, and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. The citrus acid will “cook” the fish and it will turn opaque.
- Once Bag 1 has finished “cooking,” combine and mix both bags in a large bowl and chill for at least a half hour. Drain off excess juice and serve with your favorite tortilla chips.
Our family tradition lives on. While I got the cooking genes, my 16 year old sister is the under-water hunter in our generation. So proud!
Don’t forget to check out WanderLush Diary this Friday for a Ceviche Cocktail Recipe!
Ceviche Image from Los viajes del Cangrejo on Flickr Creative Commons.
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