Peruvian Ceviche

Peruvian Ceviche: Step by Step

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1. Cut the fish into 2 cm cubes with a very sharp knife, cutting across the grain. Keep it refrigerated until the last moment.

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2. Soak the sliced red onion in iced water for 10 minutes to take the harshness off, then drain.

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3. For the leche de tigre, blend 100 ml of the lime juice with the chopped celery stick, garlic, ginger, half the chilli, a handful of coriander stalks and a few cubes of the fish until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve.

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4. Season the fish cubes with the salt in a cold bowl and toss for 30 seconds — salting first helps the cure work evenly.

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5. Add the remaining lime juice and the strained leche de tigre and stir gently.

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6. Cure for 10 to 15 minutes only, stirring once. The fish should turn opaque on the outside and stay slightly translucent at the centre.

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7. Fold through the drained onion, remaining chilli and chopped coriander.

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8. Serve immediately in chilled bowls with the leche pooled underneath, alongside sweet potato, corn and lettuce leaves. The leftover leche de tigre is traditionally drunk from a small glass.

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Keep an Eye on These

1. Buy fish from a fishmonger you trust and use it the day you buy it. This is a raw dish in every meaningful sense.
2. Cold bowl, cold fish, cold juice. Warmth speeds the cure past the point you want.
3. Never let ceviche sit. Fifteen minutes is the outer limit before the texture goes.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the chilli. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• Lemon is the everyday swap for limes in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.
• If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.

What to Serve It With

A pisco sour, or a cold lager · Serve with sweet potato and corn, which balance the acidity · Follow with a grilled main

Leftovers

Must be eaten immediately. The leche de tigre keeps 1 day and makes an excellent dressing or hangover cure.

Peruvian Ceviche Nutrition Facts

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: optional ingredients are counted; part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.