The first time I tasted ceviche was in the land of ceviche itself, Peru, and I fell immediately in love with this dish! It is a very simple dish made with fish that has been ‘cooked’ in a sharp, zesty and spicy marinade called Leche de Tigre or tiger’s milk. You can make it with any type of firm-textured white fish (here I am using sea bass). This recipe is based on London-based Peruvian chef Martin Morales’ signature ceviche.

Ingredients

  • 1 small red onion
  • 300 gr sea bass fillet, skinned and trimmed
  • 1 limo chili (red Peruvian chili)
  • 1 small sweet potato
  • Salt

Leche de tigre marinade

  • 1 garlic clove
  • Small piece of fresh ginger root
  • A few coriander sprigs
  • Juice of 4 limes
  • 2 teaspoons ají amarillo paste (yellow Peruvian chili paste)

Directions

  1. Make a few cut in the potato, wrap it in aluminium foil and bake in the oven at 200C, about 35 minutes or until completely cooked. Once cooked, peel and cut into cubes.
  2. For the marinade, combine the lime juice, garlic clove (peeled and cut into 3-4 pieces), ginger root (peeled and cut in half) and the coriander sprigs (roughly chopped). Stir and leave to infuse for about 5 minutes.
  3. Strain the mixture, add a bit of salt and the chili paste, mix well and set in the fridge.
  4. Finely slice the onion and put in a bowl of ice-cold water for about 5 minutes to remove the sharpness. Strain and dry with a kitchen towel or kitchen paper.
  5. Cut the fish in in pieces of 2-3 cm. Add a bit salt and leave for a couple of minutes. Add the leche de tigre and combine with a spoon. Leave to cook for 2 minutes.
  6. Add the onion, sweet potato, chili and chopped coriander to the fish; mix gently and serve immediately.

Can’t get your hands on Peruvian chili’s? You can use a hot, spicy red chili instead of the ají limo and a mild chili paste (like sambal) instead of the ají amarillo paste. You can those chili’s, and other Peruvian products, at Que Rico.