Sea Bass and Shrimp Ceviche
This recipe is inspired by some of the techniques and ingredients you might see in a Peruvian ceviche. I made a few adjustments to the traditional leche de tigre by incorporating a Mexican dry pan-roasting technique for some of the peppers and vegetables.The vegetables and peppers and fish can be adjusted based on what you find in your local market.
Ingredients
- tomatillos (husks removed and left whole)
- 1 Roma tomato (left whole)
- 2 Jalapeno peppers (left whole)
- 2 cloves garlic (skins left on)
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp white granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp evaporated milk
- Zest of 3 limes
- Juice of 3 limes
- ¼ yellow bell pepper (finely sliced)
- ¼ red bell pepper (finely sliced)
- ¼ green bell pepper (finely sliced)
- ¼ red onion (finely sliced)
- 1 ear of sweet corn
- 1 cup butternut squash (boiled and cut medium dice)
- 1 ripe Dragon fruit (inner flesh cut medium dice)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro (roughly chopped)
- ¼ cup fresh chives (finely sliced)
- 2 mint leaves (finely sliced)
- 4 fresh sea bass fillets (roughly 16 oz combined weight)
- 16 oz fresh shrimp (with the heads, peels, and intestines removed)
- Kosher salt (to taste)
- 1 fresh lime (cut into wedges, for serving)
- 1 bag tortilla chips of preference (for serving)
Instructions
- Remove the papery husks from the tomatillos, and wash the tomatillos.
- Place them in a dry steel sauté over medium heat, and add the whole Roma tomato, Jalapeno peppers, and the skin-on whole garlic cloves.
- Cook the vegetables over medium heat until lightly charred on the outsides.
- Remove the vegetables from the pan, and discard the garlic skins.
- Place the charred vegetables into a container meant for an immersion blender.
- Blend the dry pan-roasted vegetables using an immersion blender, and pass the contents through a fine mesh strainer.
- Mix the remaining liquid that you strained with some white granulated sugar, evaporated milk, lime zest, and lime juice.
- Taste this liquid mixture (known as the “leche de tigre”), and add more salt or fresh lime juice if desired.
- Quickly steam the corn on the cob, and then remove the cooked corn kernels from the cob.
- Peel and cook the butternut squash, and cut the cooked squash flesh into medium-dice pieces.
- Remove the skin and pin bones from the fresh sea bass fillets, and cut the flesh into small bite-sized pieces.
- Remove the heads and peels and intestines from the shrimp, and cut the cleaned shrimp into bite-sized pieces.
- When you are ready to assemble your ceviche and marinate the fish before serving, combine the sliced vegetables with the cooked corn, butternut squash, Dragon fruit, fresh cilantro, chives, and mint, along with your diced sea bass fillets and peeled and chopped shrimp.
- Add the liquid mixture you made earlier, and mix well.
- Allow the ceviche to sit for ten minutes before tasting.
- After tasting, add more Kosher salt or fresh lime juice, if desired.
- Serve the ceviche in small shallow bowls with some fresh lime wedges, in addition to some of your favorite tortilla chips.
Notes
I try to mix the fish with the fresh lime juice and remaining liquids about 30-45 minutes before serving, as the fish becomes increasingly chewy in texture as it sits in the marinade for longer than one hour.
You can use whatever hot peppers you like to make this dish—in Peru, this dish would be more often made with a small hot yellow pepper known as aji Amarillo, and is often served with crunchy giant corn kernels on top. You can buy the peppers in paste form online, or try to locate the peppers fresh. The hot peppers and aji Amarillo paste both freeze well.
You can use whatever hot peppers you like to make this dish—in Peru, this dish would be more often made with a small hot yellow pepper known as aji Amarillo, and is often served with crunchy giant corn kernels on top. You can buy the peppers in paste form online, or try to locate the peppers fresh. The hot peppers and aji Amarillo paste both freeze well.