Costa Rican fish ceviche recipe

June 15, 12:41 PMDaytona Food ExaminerConnie Rice

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Daytona Food Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

It's amazing to think you can take raw fish and "cook" it in cold lime juice to create ceviche, an elegant appetizer or light main course for a summer lunch. The process is a cold-cooking, pickling, or marinating of the fish and the key is that the high acid of the lime juice denatures the proteins of the seafood.
This recipe for Fish Ceviche (Ceviche de Pescado) Costa Rican style may seem complex but it's actually quite easy. It is also a recipe that is made to your liking - as long as the fish is very fresh and thoroughly "cooked" by the citrus marinade.

Costa Rican Fish Ceviche Recipe

Ingredients:

• Filet of any type of white fish such as red snapper, mahi mahi, tilapia, or shark. (Be sure to cut off any part of the fish that is not pure white.)
• Enough fresh lime juice to cover the fish twice, plus extra
• Finely chopped cilantro
• Finely chopped red bell pepper
• Finely chopped onion
• Finely chopped fresh garlic
• Sugar to taste
• Salt or chicken bouillon powder to taste

Directions:
Soak the fish in salted water for 10 minutes - the water should be roughly the salinity of saltwater. Important: rub the fish with lime juice and lime pieces. This step very significant because it is a "washing" off of a milky residue on the fish. Discard the milky liquid.

Chop up fish into little chunks, (may want to "wash" fish again after chopping, if so drain out liquid after) Add fish pieces to all the other ingredients including new fresh lime juice into container. Mixture should cover all the fish pieces completely. Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, stirring at least once during that time. Ceviche is done when the fish has turned completely white. If the juice lookes milky it means it wasn't completely "washed" in step 2. It is perfectly OK to drain some of this milky looking liquid and add fresher lime juice.

Ceviche looks good served on a bed of lettuce or in a martini glass. It is traditionally served with saltines and/or plaintain chips, with Tabasco-style sauce on the side.

This is a great recipe for a covered dish party - click here for more potluck dinner ideas.