Friday, February 6, 2015

French Fridays with Dorie - Winter Ceviche


Today´s recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is Winter Ceviche. This recipe for an essentially Latin American dish of fish cured in lime juice is fresh, vibrant and healthy.




Ceviche is, at its most basic, raw fish marinated in citrus juice and spices. The acid in the juice denatures the proteins in the meat in much the same way as cooking would. The flesh becomes opaque, the texture firmer and dryer, yet the flavors remain bright and fresh. A perfect dish for a sunny winter day it seems.




It goes without saying that any fish served raw should be spanking fresh, but, in general, there is no single species that is particularly favored for ceviche. It makes sense to use the local „Catch of the Day“ (if available) and the species you use should change depending on availability. While Dorie´s recipe calls for bay scallops, this recipe seemed to work equally well with fresh organic wild salmon, which is what I chose to use.  In theory, any white fish can be used, but many fragile fish can become rubbery or totally dissolve in the lime juice.




The cut is also important, and suggestions range from largeish chunks (Dorie´s recipe calls for whole bay scallops or quartered sea scallops) to slicing the fish as thinly as possible. It is often said that dicing, rather than slicing, will ensure a good distribution of raw fish and fish cooked on the outside. I chose to dice my salmon for today´s recipe.




The chief marinating ingredient is, of course, citrus juice. Lime is most commonly used, but lemons and even oranges are sometimes used. It seems absolutely vital to use a generous amount of citrus – that way you get a good spoonful along with the fish.




Fresh and light, Dorie´s recipe also calls for seedless grapes (I used green as well as red grapes), mango nectar (I added cubes of fresh mango as well), extra-virgin olive oil (I used my beloved demure cold-pressed almond oil), natural brown sugar, grated zest and juice of one organic lemon and one lime, fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  All those ingredients taken together will be rather gentle to your taste buds. You can make the ceviche in advance, but no more than an hour or so. You could add fresh tarragon just before serving if you wish - I added fresh cress instead, no tarragon to be found anywhere today.




We loved this recipe and did not find the salmon too strong a flavor. It did take on the flavor of the fruity sharpness of limes and the pleasant sourness of lemons, and it did harmonize well with all the other ingredients such as the sweet grapes, mango nectar and small cubes of fresh mango.




To see whether the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group enjoyed this week´s recipe, please go here.

For copyright reasons, we do not publish the recipes from the book. But you can find the recipe for “Winter Ceviche “ on page 177 in Dorie Greenspan´s cookbook "Around my French Table".



30 comments:

  1. Salmon sounds wonderful for this dish. I think a stronger flavored fish like salmon would have been a better balance to the sweetness of the ingredients. Nicely done.

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    1. Diane, first I had a hard time finding some beautiful scallops this week and then I was glad to have opted for fresh wild salmon as we (almost) all enjoyed this lovely Winter Ceviche which was definitely a tad sweeter than the Ceviches we have enjoyed before.
      Have a nice weekend,
      Andre

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  2. I would have loved this with salmon, too! And the puffed fish are such a cute garnish :) Happy Weekend!!! xo

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    1. Liz, I know that you really enjoyed this week´s recipe and you used these beautiful scallops - the recipe worked well with that wild salmon too and when served this way, the kids enjoyed this dish as well!
      Thank you for your kind comment,
      Andrea

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  3. Did your girls like this Winter Ceviche, Andrea? If so, they have sophisticated little palates (which I already knew) but I have always thought Ceviche to be an acquired taste. I first tasted ceviche when I was in my mid-forties and living in Aspen. Ceviche and I met at a very fancy dinner party and Mary being Mary, balked. Michael never was embarrassed at such things, poor guy. Eventually the hostess talked me off the ledge and I ate "half" of a very small portion. I think I would have done better at your dinner table because I would have coaxed the raw fish down with those adorable puff pastry/poppy seed fish. A lovely presentation and thank you for the ceviche tutorial.

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    1. Dear Mary, the puff pastry fish were a last minute thought of mine - guess what the kids ate first...so, quick picture taking was in order. Klara loved the Ceviche with fresh mangos and red and white seedlees grapes, the others tried and liked it, as well, just a bit less. I loved the flavor/texture combination and would have liked to add a bit heat to the dish but this recipe is certainly worth making again - the salmon was fresh and nice and delicious with the fruit - great recipe.
      Hope you are having a wonderful weekend,
      Andrea

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  4. Beautiful photos, Andrea! I mean, they always are, but I really like the contrast between the colorful ceviche and the wintery background.

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    1. Katie, thank you very much - yesterday was a cold but very sunny winter day - just perfect for rushing outside and taking pictures while everybody inside the house was sitting around the table waiting for lunch...seriously, it was a beautiful day today. And we really enjoyed our well-chilled Cheviche.
      Andrea

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  5. Ooops my comment vanished - forgive me if you get the same comment twice. I often think of you when I take my camera out, Andrea, because your photos are filled will wonderful light. I love these little pots of ceviche - I could definitely use something so light and delicious after all the heavy food at Christmas.

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    1. Dear Hester, so very nice to hear from you and what a lovely comment indeed! I was just discussing the dreadful winter light with a photographer today - I cannot wait for spring to arrive so I do not have to watch the winter sky for what seems to be every single minute of the day!
      Thank you so much for stopping by,
      Andrea

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  6. Oh my goodness I love all your beautiful fish platters and those flaky fish pastries are amazing. My kids would still go nuts if I made those now ) at 18 and 21 years old....) but boy would they have loved to have such cuties when they were younger. Your girls are so very lucky !! So glad you enjoyed the ceviche. Your salmon selection looks perfect. And always, always the gorgeous photos. Eye candy indeed.

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    1. Tricia, I am smiling now as I know how much the kids loved /love these little "extras" like puff pastry fish - it often makes all the difference and makes them want to try foods that they would otherwise not go for - seems to be a visual thing, I do not know, but it does work.
      Loved your mussels as well as your ceviche and the idea of tossing those lovely scallops for a short stint into the frying pan afer the picture was taken!
      Andrea

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  7. Dear Andrea, Only you can create such a lovely presentation of ceviche…loved the little puffed fish on the small fish plate. I think Dorie would smile with envy. :D

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    1. Dear Karen, thank you very much for your kind comment - what a woonderful thing to say! You just made my Sunday!
      Andrea

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  8. Andrea, soooo liebevoll in den Glaeschen mit Blaetterteigfischchen präsentiert. Noch besser geht kaum :-) Einen ganz lieben Gruss!

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    1. Liebe Wally, ganz herzlichen Dank - schön, dass dir meine PresenTation so gut gefällt! Es was ein wahnsinnig schöner Wintertag mit viel Sonne am Freitag - ist leider schon wieder vorbei! Es schnee-regnet wieder!
      Liebe Grüsse,
      Andrea

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  9. Beautiful presentation, love those pastries.

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    1. Dear Nana, thank you so much - loved your presentation in the pretty French bowls as well!

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  10. Hi Andrea, I just love ceviche and yours looks delicious, your fish plates are adorable.

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    1. Cheri, until last fall when I made my first Ceviche, I had never eaten one in my life - now we love it and I will be making it again on spring time with different kinds of fish.

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  11. Andrea,
    deliciously displayed. WOWWWWW. xxx

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  12. This winter ceviche - yours in particular - looks perfect, bright, and fresh. I can imagine it now on our terrace, as it is nice and warm here! I love salmon used for ceviche, although it is rare to fund unless you make it at home. Your little poppyseed-covered puff fish are a great addition, too. Happy Sunday - almost Monday for you! ~ David

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    1. David, Winter Ceviche was a totally new concept to me - we loved the fresh salmon in this and it paired really nice with the rest of the ingredients - no such thing as dinning out on the terrace here yet!
      Liebe Grüße,
      Andrea

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  13. Hi Andrea! I love the way you served your ceviche in little glasses. I'm excited knowing other fish and herbs work well for this delightful recipe. I will try it with salmon some time, not one of the variations I had already planned to make. And your puffy fish are adorable! Have a lovely week. Betsy

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    1. Betsy, thank you kindly - do try using salmon, it works really well in this recipe. Gotta go with what you can find at the fish monger - it just happened to be fresh salmon that day and we loved the results.

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  14. Your ceviche looks so fresh and vibrant! I've never made this at home, but it looks like a great dish to try. I love your little fish, too - so cute!

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    1. Amy, I had never tried making Ceviche before joing the French Fridays group either - we really enjoy Ceviches now and then when I can get my hands on really good fresh fish.

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  15. Those puff pastry fish!!!!

    What a great improvisation with the salmon - it sounds delicious.

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    1. Thank you, Cher - the puff pastry fish where there so the kids would happily try the Winter Ceviche - kind of like an eye-cather/attention grabber kind of nibble - but they turned yout nice and we ended up liking them quite a bit, even the grown-ups.

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