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Classic Ceviche

Source of Recipe

Rick Bayless


Recipe Introduction

Makes about four-and-a-half cups; serves 8 as an appetizer, 12 as a nibble

List of Ingredients

1 pound fresh skinless snapper, bass, halibut, or other ocean fish fillets (fish that have a large flake or meaty texture), cut into 1/2-inch cubes or slightly smaller
1 1/2 cups fresh lime juice
1 medium white onion, chopped into quarter-inch pieces
2 medium-large (1 pound total) tomatoes, chopped into quarter-inch pieces
Fresh hot green chiles to taste (roughly 2 to 3 serranos or 1 to 2 jalapenos), stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro,plus a few leaves for garnish
1/3 cup chopped pitted green olives (choose manzanillos for a typical Mexican flavor)
1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, optional
Salt
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice or 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 large or 2 small ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
Tostadas, tortilla chips, or saltine crackers for serving



Recipe

In a 1.5-quart glass or stainless steel bowl, combine the fish, lime juice, and onion. Youll need enough juice to cover the fish and allow it to float somewhat freely; too little juice means unevenly cooked fish.

Cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours, until a cube of fish no longer looks raw when broken open.

Pour into a colander and drain off the lime juice. In a large bowl, mix together the tomatoes, green chiles, cilantro, olives, and olive oil.

Stir in the fish, then taste and season with salt, usually about 3/4 teaspoon, and orange juice (the sweetness of the orange juice helps balance some of the typical tanginess of the ceviche).

Cover and refrigerate if not serving immediately. Just before serving, stir in the avocado, being careful not to break up the pieces.

Rick's verbiage: Serving options: Set out the ceviche in a large bowl and let people spoon it onto individual plates to eat with chips or saltines; serve small bowls of the ceviche (I like to lay a bed of frise lettuce in each bowl before spooning in the ceviche) and serve tostadas, chips, or saltines alongside; or pile the ceviche onto chips or tostadas and pass around for guests to consume. Garnish the ceviche with leaves of cilantro before setting it center stage.