I think my first introduction to ceviche was made by a dear friend and well-known SF Chef, Johnny Alamilla. He made a delicious cold dish of red snapper, lime, and onions inspired by his Honduran Grandmother. He explained that citric acid has the same effect on the fish protein as heat, ensuring the fish was fully cooked after half an hour.
A few years later, Therese introduced me to conch ceviche on my first visit to Cozumel. An absolutely incredible dish that cannot be duplicated anywhere else on earth, the most memorable version made by her neighbor Diego. We’d buy it to go in a large clear plastic bag, knotted at the top, and eat it every single day.
Back in San Francisco, some people we knew opened a big, beautiful waterfront restaurant called La Mar Cebicheria. It immediately became our favorite place to take visitors for a pisco sour and sampler of Peruvian ceviches. One particularly fun evening was taking Santi Sueiro there for dinner, in honor of his Peruvian mother, Teresa.
This basic ceviche recipe comes from a ‘California Cuisine’ cookbook Jason bought for me when I first moved to San Francisco. It can be assembled quickly to turn any summer evening into a backyard vacation. Use firm, thinly sliced fillets of any local white fish, as fresh as possible.
Red Snapper Ceviche
Ingredients
- 1 pound red snapper fillets
- 3/4 cup lime juice
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 red or yellow bell pepper finely diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 pinch chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon parsley finely chopped
- 1 avocado
- 1 tomato Seeded and diced
- corn tortilla chips
Instructions
- Cut the fish into small bite-sized pieces
- In a glass or ceramic bowl (not metal), combine lime juice, lemon juice, onion, garlic, cumin, chili pepper, and salt, and stir well to combine.
- Add the fish, stir well to coat. Add the diced peppers, stir, and try to submerge all the fish pieces as well as possible.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Stir and check thickest pieces for doneness. May take up to two hours, depending on the type of fish used.
- When ready to serve, add the olive oil, avocado, tomato, and parsley. Stir and serve with tortilla chips.