Basically, you're curing seafood in lime juice. And it's ah-MAZE-ing.
Ingredients:
1/2 red onion, sliced very thin
1/2 lb. fresh fish (like sea bass, tilapia or whitefish)
1/2 lb. cooked shrimp (I thawed frozen, cooked Argentinian red shrimp)
2 garlic cloves, minced finely
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 fresh serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3/4 cup lime juice (about 6 big limes)
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1 avocado (optional)
Preparation:
- Cut up your onion, garlic, pepper, tomatoes and herbs as directed above. (The trick here is that all ingredients need to be as fresh as possible, and sliced/chopped/minced as finely as possible.)
- Chop up your fish and shrimp into about 1/2 inch cubes. Place fish, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and lime juice into a shallow container, mix gently, and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Cook & Serve:
There's no cooking, so that's awesome. Before serving, drain excess liquid from the fish. Add cilantro and tomatoes. Add more salt if you wish, after tasting. If you're using avocado, cube it and mix in just before serving and eat immediately. Serve on crackers or with tortilla chips.
A Little Backstory:
Not sure why we never had fish at home when I was a kid. OK, that's not entirely true -- I remember frozen fish sticks. My first encounter with actual great seafood was a business trip to Finland, early in my career. The restaurant served me whitefish, which was some kind of melt-in-my-mouth heaven I'd never had -- but of course they had caught it literally 10 steps out the back door. I learned a good lesson; like with most ingredients, fish and seafood is best when served fresh (or flash-frozen soon after catching) and close to the source. Don't scrimp on the cheap or over-processed stuff. And never buy sushi from a gas station.
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