Peruvian Ceviche

Ingredients

For the Ceviche

• Around 2 pounds of the freshest white fish you can find at the market
• Red onion in julienne slices
• Habanero pepper (no seeds), sliced or chopped
• Fresh chopped cilantro leaves
• Salt and pepper

For the Fish Stock

• Water
• Fish scraps and bones
• Onion
• Ajo/garlic
• Ginger
• Cilantro

Leche de Tigre (Tiger's Milk)

• 10-12 freshly squeezed lime juice
• Fish stock (which ideally homemade)
• Fresh fish scraps
• Salt and pepper
• A chunk of ginger
• Half a red onion
• Cilantro with stems (¼ - ½ cup)
• 1 whole habanero pepper (this is where the kick comes from)
• 2 or 3 ice cubes
• 1 garlic clove

Garnish

• A bag of Peruvian big kettle corn or 2-3 ears of corn on the cob (without husks or silk)
• 1 or 2 sweet potatoes
• Lettuce for decorating
• Cilantro leaves

Instructions

Prepare the Garnish

1. 1
   Start by boiling the peeled sweet potatoes and corn. When ready, cut the sweet potatoes in thick slices and cut the corn in chunks (or de-grain it). Reserve it in the fridge.

Make the Fish Stock

2. 1
   Combine fish bones and head, fish scraps, a red onion, a garlic clove, a small ginger chunk, a bit of cilantro (no salt, that will come later) in a pot. Cover with water and let it boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Pass through a strainer and put it in the fridge when done so it’s cold when you need it for the Leche de Tigre. You’re gonna need about a cup of cold fish stock for the Leche de Tigre.

Prepare the Ceviche

3. 1
   Make sure you get the fish filets with no skin. Cut in cubes roughly the size of game dice. Make sure they’re all similar in size but in a bowl. (If you get any scraps, save them to use them for the Leche de Tigre). Salt the fish - make sure all the fish is touching the salt - and reserve in the fridge. This is a simple way of ‘curing’ the fish.
4. 2
   Julienne one big (or two medium) red onions. Get rid of the core of the onion (you can use those scraps in the Leche de Tigre or the stock so that nothing goes to waste!). The thinner the better! If you can use a slicer even better. Place the julienne slices in ice water. The ice water will make it a bit crunchier and will make the taste of the onions smoother and less strong.
5. 3
   Chop up cilantro leaves really small.
6. 4
   Chop up one or two habanero peppers. Here it really depends how spicy you want it. If you want it really spicy, then leave some of the seeds in there. If you want mild spicy then get rid of the seeds and the veins. You can also leave it in water with salt for a while and that will make it less spicy.

Make the Leche de Tigre - This is the heart of the dish. Leche de Tigre means tiger's milk.

7. 1

   In a blender add: the juice of 10-12 green limes (about a cup or a bit more), about a cup of cold fish stock, a chunk of ginger, 2 or 3 ice cubes, just a bit a bit of fish scraps (from when you were cutting the fish), 1 whole habanero pepper with seeds and everything, 1 garlic clove, and blend for about 20 o 30 seconds. Then add the onion and the cilantro and blend for another 10-15 seconds. Pass through a fine strainer.

Assemble the Dish

8. 1
   Use a cold dish, garnish with sweet potatoes and corn on the side, also a couple of lettuce leaves. In a bowl, mix the fish, the julienne onion, the tiger’s milk, and an ice cube. Garnish with the chopped habanero and cilantro. Don’t let it sit or marinate, just eat immediately after plating. Enjoy!