An Easy Home Recipe: How to Make Ceviche

Esquire.com

Recipe by Chef Anthony Chittum, Iron Gate Restaurant, Washington, D.C.


Serves four.


















Prep these salad ingredients first so you aren't rushing through them during the fish's short marinate time.

  • 1 small fennel bulb

  • 1 blood orange, peeled, with as much of the pith removed as possible

  • Castelvetrano olives (or other mild oil-cured Sicilian green olive), cut away from pits in quarters

  • 2 tbsp capers, rinsed

  • 6 fresh mint leaves, torn or snipped into ribbons

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Remove the fronds from the top of the fennel, roughly chop about 1 tbsp worth, and set aside. Pick about 8 more fronds, but leave them whole and set aside. Discard the fennel bulb's tough outer layer and slice it as thinly as you can. Cut four 1/4-inch slices from the blood orange (reserve the rest) and cut each slice in half to form 8 half-moon-shaped sections. Set these aside.

  • 12-to-14-oz deboned striped bass, skinned (see illustration, right) and cut into 1/4-inch dice

  • 2 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice

  • 1 tbsp tangerine juice

  • sea salt

  • ground black pepper

  • 2 tbsp quality olive oil

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Place the diced fish in a bowl, mix in lemon juice, tangerine juice, and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Mix very well. Refrigerate. After five minutes, the mixture will have thickened and coated the fish, and the fish should be whiter in color. Remove from the refrigerator.


When the fish is ready, fold the sliced fennel into the marinated fish. Fold in 1 ½ tbsp olive oil, chopped fennel fronds, olives, capers, and mint. Taste, then adjust the salt and pepper as needed.

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To plate: Portion the ceviche onto four small plates. Squeeze the juice from the uncut section of the blood orange and drizzle it around each serving. Drizzle the remaining ½ tbsp olive oil and garnish with the oranges and fennel fronds. Sprinkle with sea salt.


Eat now.



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