Recipe: Ceviche de A Thought For Food
Friday, July 2, 2010
Over the past month, Eric and I have been getting fish every Monday from a Community Supported Fishery. We joined this program because we were finding that much of the seafood we were buying in the store was being imported from all over the country (sometimes from all over the world) and we were getting frustrated that we weren’t able to find more local seafood. (Which is strange… we’re in New England for crying out loud!)
The CSF is very similar to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program in that you are giving the money directly to those doing the fishing. It also means that we are getting incredibly fresh, sustainably caught fish.
The CSF that we are a part of,
Cape Ann Fresh Catch, has three different options for their program. One is to get fillets every week. The second is to get whole fish (head and all). The third option, which is what we went with, is to alternate: one week whole, the next fillets. The fish tends to be cod or haddock and they range from being 6-8 lbs. Not bad for $22 a week, right?
For our most recent CSF pickup, we received hake. I’ll spare you pictures of this thing (it’s ugly), but if you want to see for yourself, you can Google it. So, with a big ugly fish in our possession, I decided to make my first attempt at filleting. The results were mostly positive, but there were huge chunks of meat that I missed. Eric came home and helped me remove these pieces and we decided to bag them up and save them for another night.
The larger fillets made a lovely meal that evening and as we ate, I thought about what I’d do with the rest of the hake. Recently, Eric has been asking me to make ceviche for him (he makes a lot of requests like this… and I’m stuck with him, so I kind of have to oblige him). I had the fish to do it, so why not make the man happy?
Ceviche comes in many forms, but it is basically fish (and other seafood) that is cured in citrus. Commonly, it is done with lime juice, but grapefruit and lemon can be used as well. It needs to sit for at least six hours, but depending on the size of the pieces of meat, it can take up to ten.
It is also rather simple to prepare (when you’re not doing the filleting yourself) and there are a number of variations that can be made to the recipe. Eric has an aversion to cilantro, which is a key ingredient in most ceviche recipes (I know, I know… there are lots of people out there with this same disdain for it), so I promised not to include it in the dish. Instead, I chopped up some fresh parsley and mint and it worked wonderfully.
It’s a great recipe for these hot summer days and it is sure to impress dinner guests.
Ceviche de A Thought For Food (serves 6)
Ingredients2 lbs. boneless skinless hake (or sole)1 tbsp Salt3/4 cup fresh lime juice1 tbsp. tequila
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley1 tbsp. chopped fresh mint
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 small red onion, halved and cut lengthwise into thin strips3 ears of corn
Directions
Rinse the fish fillets and pat dry. Cut into chunks, roughly 1/2″ in size. Place fish in a medium bowl and season with salt. After a few minutes, add the lime juice, tequila, parsley, mint, garlic, cayenne pepper, and red onion and toss to combine. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, patting it down to cover the mixture to avoid any air from touching the fish. Put bowl in refrigerator and let sit for at least 6 hours, but no more than 12.
Before serving, boil the corn, and, using a knife, cut the kernels from cob. Add corn to ceviche and mix to incorporate.
To serve, portion even amounts in six martini glasses. Or, if you want to be more rustic, serve over lettuce leaves with boiled sweet potato and other root vegetables.
So..here is the hake you mentioned last time…looks so fresh and tender in the salad. It's 37C here…just too hot to feel like to cook anything. Salad would be perfect for the dinner.
looks great. mint and tequila…i like it.
I had never heard of a community supported fishery – great concept. Your recipe looks delightful. So nice for the summer.
Wahoo – finally, ceviche without cilantro! I love you guys!
Brian,
What a wonderful organization to support. I too feel bad about buying fish that is imported from all over the country…and the world! Ryan and I have cut back on our fish consumption for that very reason. We would love to find something similar to what you and Eric are doing (unfortunately this is hard in dry Colorado). I adore ceviche, and I wish I could bring over some homemade tortilla chips for us all to share!
Great photos and thanks for sharing such great information about the CSF. I'm a huge supporter of local and sustainable foods and I'm glad to see you are too!
This would be perfect for our trip to the lake this weekend. I wish we lived somewhere that had such a neat organization…like your CSF. How wonderful. Best to you for the 4th!
As a long-time supporter of a community-supported farm, I'm surprised that I never heard of the concept as applied to fish. Thank you for making all of us aware of this option. I am able to get wonderful local fish at our farmers' market, but this is a novel idea that I'm so glad to know about. Great post, as always, and your photos are beautiful!
A perfect dish! Wow, I am inspired to make this now:)
All I can think is, "That UGLY fish turned into this beautiful dish?"
Looks fabulous and I don't even think I like ceviche…maybe you can persuade me?!
What a wonderful use of fresh fish and ingredients! Perfect for summer that is sure! I adore cilantro (but can totally understand your husband's aversion, since I grew to like it as an adult), so I would include cilantro when I make it!
How lucky you are to find this program! I can only imagine how delicious the freshest of fish must be. Ceviche is a wonderful way to showcase it. It looks fantastic!
looks gorgeous!
(i won't be partaking, but i think the parsley and mint was a great alternative to the cilantro!)
Mmnnn. . . .I [seriously] LOVES me some ceviche. . . particularmente cuando el pescado es muy fresco.
Tambien tengo un mensaje para las personas que dicen que no le gustan ceviche y nunca lo habian probado. . . ¡Para gozar la vida, tiene que probar la vida!
This sounds wonderful! I love ceviche, and the tequila is a nice addition!
Did you say tequila? WELL then.
Ceviche will forever more remind me of this scene in Archer when Sterling Archer is in Cuba being hand-fed ceviche by a Cuban double agent he was supposed to be seducing. "Oh Ramon!" Aaaaanyway. Guess you had to be there.
Yum ceviche! Should have made some these past few days when it was too hot to turn on the stove. I've been living off of pico de gallo and guacamole, seriously.
Now those are some gorgeous shots. I love love love ceviche, cause if the fish is fresh, nothing is tastier!
I wonder if there is a CSF I can join in NY…because the other day when WHOLE FOODS of all places had farm-raised salmon on sale. I almost threw a fit. I mean, if Whole Foods is letting me down then where am I supposed to turn for good quality fish?
The photos of the ceviche are gorgeous. I really like the sound of a grapefruit infused one…hmmmm.
This is an excellent recipe Brian – I never heard of this dish before this post. I am glad I did now! I am sure we can do this with bluegills, assuming we'll catch some, and also with the carp I am yet to buy.
A nice ceviche. Very refreshing.
That is a wonderful recipe and one that I won't hesitate to try. Kudos. This is my first visit to your blog, so I've spent some time reading your earlier posts. I'm so glad I did. I love your recipes and the convivial tone of your blog. I'll be back often to see what else you've been making. I hope you have a wonderful day. Blessings…Mary
Filleting fish is hard, isn't it? We had a few days dedicated to doing so when I was at cookery school and it was literally the worst thing EVER. I hated it! Having said that, I now know how to gut and fillet fish and de-bone chickens, so useful!
Your ceviche looks lovely and although hake is ugly as heck, I bet it tasted lovely!
Jax x
Ceviche is the perfect tasty summer no-cooking type of dishes.I made a scallop one not long ago but yours sounds like my next attempt.
What a lovely way to use up the chunks of fish. It's also perfect for this time of year, zesty, tangy and delicious!
i'm your newest fan! would love to have you follow me at mangia-bella.blogspot.com – i so adore ceviche, i make a mahi mahi ceviche and there is nothing like it in the summer time with a margerita, yes? have a glorious weekend