A BASIC RECIPE FOR CEVICHE
The basic idea is always the same. Fish and seafood are marinated in citrus acids and then flavored as desired. Ceviche is a beloved snack in the entire South American region until almost Miami: refreshing, finely curbs your hunger, healthy, and very multi-variant.
PRODUCES 4 SERVINGS
30 kitchen-ready prawns
4 limes
½ cup (100 ml) olive oil
1 cup (250 ml) Mexican salsa (page 53)
salt
PREPARATION
1. Wash the prawns and dry them. Lay these in a bowl and douse them with hot water. Let them stand for five minutes until they turn a pink color.
2. Drain the poached stock. Squeeze out the limes and soak the prawns consistently in the lime juice and lightly salt them. Let them infuse for fifteen minutes at room temperature.
3. Stir in the olive oil. Cover with kitchen foil and let them infuse for sixty minutes in the refrigerator. Stir in the Mexican salsa and spread the ceviche on individual plates or in small bowls.
SCOTT’S TIP:
Ceviche goes really well with tortilla chips. The finely aromatic fluid lends itself to be scooped up with a spoon, and the contrast between the crispy chips and delicate seafood is great!
HALIBUT CEVICHE WITH OLIVES
Raw fish, marinated only in lemon juice can have an intense flavor when paired with olives.
PRODUCES 4 SERVINGS
¾ pound (400 g) Halibut filet
3 limes
½ of a red onion
1 small tomato
1 Serrano chili pepper
10 green olives (i.e., filled with pimientos)
1 bunch cilantro
2 juicy oranges
salt
WHEN SERVING:
1 ripe, aromatic avocado
PREPARATION
1. Cut the Halibut filet into fine cubes and squeeze out the limes. Mix the fish and lime stock in a bowl and let this cool for sixty minutes while covered.
2. Peel the onion and finely chop it. Remove the stalks from the tomato, wash it, and finely chop it. Wearing kitchen gloves, halve the chili lengthwise, remove the seeds, and finely chop the pulp. Finely chop the olives. Wash the cilantro, shake it dry, and finely chop the leaves.
3. Drain the lime stock. Squeeze out the oranges. Together with the aromas and some salt, fold in the orange juice with the fish. Stir well and let this cool for at least four hours while covered.
4. Arrange the ceviche on small plates or in glasses when serving. Shell an avocado, finely dice it, or cut it into slices and garnish this on top of the ceviche.
SQUID CEVICHE
For this recipe, fresh squid suits the dish especially well, and you can get it kitchen-prepared from your local fish monger.
PRODUCES 4 SERVINGS
1 pound (500 g) kitchen-ready squid
10 limes
3 ripe, medium-sized tomatoes
1 large red onion
1 ripe, aromatic avocado
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch smooth parsley
2 Jalapeño chili peppers
¼ cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
PREPARATION
1. Simmer the squid in a pot with boiling water for twenty minutes, then rinse it off under cold water and divide it into fine, bite-sized pieces.
2. Squeeze out the limes, fill an appropriate-sized bowl with the squid, bathe it with the lime juice, and let it cool for twelve hours.
3. Measure out three tablespoons lime stock and drain the rest of it. Wash the tomatoes and remove the stalks, then peel the onion and shell the avocado. Finely dice the tomatoes and the avocado and finely chop the onion. Wash the cilantro and the parsley, shake them dry, and finely chop the leaves. Wearing kitchen gloves, halve the Jalapeño chili peppers lengthwise, remove the seeds, and finely chop the pulp.
4. Mix everything together well with the oil, salt, and pepper, and serve chilled.
TEQUILA PRAWNS
Good tequila comes in many degrees of maturity. The middle-aged Reposado, which we use in our restaurant for this recipe, has to mature for at least two years in an oak barrel.
PRODUCES 4 SERVINGS
1 natural orange
1 shallot
1–2 garlic cloves
16 kitchen-ready, cooked prawns
7 tablespoons (100 g) butter
2 Serrano chili peppers
1 small bunch cilantro
¼ cup of tequila (ideally Reposado)
sea salt
WHEN SERVING:
steamed or pan-fried rice
PREPARATION
1. Grate the orange peel into sheer zests. Scrape off the rest of the white inner skin with a hot spoon, if desired. Blanche the zests in boiling water and then rinse them under cold water. Repeat this process three times. Dry the zests with a paper towel afterward.
2. Peel the shallot and finely dice it. Peel the garlic clove(s) and finely chop it/them. Wash the prawns with cold water and let them dry.
3. Melt the butter in a pan on medium heat. Stew the shallot until it is glazed. Then cook the garlic pieces and the prawns in the onion butter on low heat while stirring frequently until the prawns turn a different color and curl up.
4. Wearing kitchen gloves, finely chop the Serrano chili peppers. According to your desired spice level, as mentioned earlier, halve the peppers lengthwise and remove the seeds and the white membrane. Wash the cilantro, shake it dry, and finely chop it.
5. Stir in the chili pieces and orange peel strips with the prawns. Then pour in the tequila and light it with a long match. Let the alcohol burn off. Now, stir in the cilantro and salt everything.
FISH WITH CRAB IN A RED SAUCE
This recipe combines white fish with our German crabs—delicious and very simple. You only have to plan for the two-hour marinating time, but this dish actually cooks itself.
PRODUCES 4 SERVINGS
½ pound (250 g) white fish filet (i.e., golden redfish or red snapper)
3 limes
1 shallot
1 small garlic clove
½ pound (250 g) pulled crab
1 small bunch cilantro
1 ripe, aromatic avocado
1 cup (250 ml) ketchup
1 tablespoon pickled Chipotle chili peppers (Chipotle en adobo)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
WHEN SERVING:
tortilla chips
PREPARATION
1. Lay the fish in a flat bowl.
2. Squeeze out the limes and sprinkle the juice over the fish. Chill the fish for two hours while covered and let it marinate.
3. Peel the shallot and the garlic clove and finely chop it or grate it. Fold the crab, the shallots, and the garlic into the marinated fish, then salt and pepper. Let this cool for thirty minutes while covered.
4. Wash the cilantro, shake it dry, and finely chop the leaves. Shell the avocado, remove the pit, and finely cut the pulp into fine strips.
5. When serving, pour the excess lime juice over the dish. Divide the fish into bite-sized pieces. Stir in the cilantro, the ketchup, and the Chipotle chilies and combine everything together well. Serve the ceviche in glass containers with slices of avocado.
SCALLOP CEVICHE
For ceviche, all the ingredients must always be of top-fresh quality.
PRODUCES 4 SERVINGS
1 pound (500 g) kitchen-ready scallops
4 limes
3 ripe, aromatic avocados
1 aromatic tomato
1 handful of cilantro leaves
1 Serrano chili pepper
⅓ cup (80 ml) extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
WHEN SERVING:
tortilla chips
PREPARATION
1. If needed, remove the scallops from the coral, wash them, then carefully dry them with a paper towel. Halve them lengthwise and lay them in a flat mold.
2. Squeeze out the limes and pour the juice over the scallops. Let them marinate for fifteen minutes at room temperature.
3. Halve the avocados and remove the pit. With a melon ball cutter, cut out the pulp into ball form.
4. Remove the stalks from the tomato, wash it, and dice it. Wash the cilantro, shake it dry, and finely chop the leaves. Wearing kitchen gloves, finely chop the Serrano chili peppers.
5. Drain the lime stock. Mix the scallops with the rest of the ingredients except for the avocado balls and arrange the scallop mix onto a plate. Spread the avocado balls over the scallops and serve immediately.
SCOTT’S TIP:
When marinating, use a clear glass container because then you can see if all of the ingredients are sitting in the lime juice.
COCONUT COVERED PRAWNS
A beautiful beginner recipe for prawns. Thanks to the sweetness of the coconut and the cornflakes, even kids will venture to try this dish.
PRODUCES 4 SERVINGS
12 kitchen-ready, cooked king prawns with unpeeled tails
1 small lemon
⅓ cup (80 g) flour
1 egg
½ cup (100 ml) milk
2 tablespoons (30 g) cornflakes
½ cup (100 g) coconut flakes
vegetable oil for frying
salt
PREPARATION
1. Put the king prawns in a bowl and coat them with cold water. Squeeze out the lemon and add the juice to the bowl. Soak the prawns in the juice for one minute, then lift them out of the water and carefully dry them with a paper towel.
2. Beat the flour, the egg, and the milk for the coating of the prawns and carefully salt this mixture. Mix the cornflakes and coconut flakes together and put this mixture onto a flat plate. Lay out a cooling rack and place baking parchment on it. Grip the prawns by the tail and first immerse them in the flour mix, then toss them in the cornflake-coconut mix. Let them rest on the cooling rack for several minutes until the coating becomes firm; then the coating should not fall off when frying the prawns.
3. Heat up the vegetable oil in an appropriate-sized pot to 350°F (180°C). Fry the prawns in serving-sized portions for one minute in hot oil and turn them over once in the frying oil. Then let the prawns dry on a paper towel.
SCOTT’S TIP:
This dish tastes delicious with the American varieties of German apple sauce. They are somewhat more runny and work well as a dip.
SEAFOOD TACOS
Fish tacos are surfer food and, admittedly, exist not only in Mexico. Do not be afraid of this long list of ingredients.
PRODUCES 4 SERVINGS
1 lime
1 teaspoon pickled Chipotle chili peppers (Chipotle en adobo)
½ of a garlic clove
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 cup (250 ml) mayonnaise
3 allspice grains
10 cilantro seeds
½ of a bay leaf
1 pinch per ingredient: sweet ground paprika, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger
1 clove
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon celery salt
1 cup (250 ml) butter milk
½ pound (200 g) white fish filet (i.e. tilapia)
½ pound (200 g) kitchen-ready squid rings
⅔ cup (150 g) flour
vegetable oil for frying
freshly ground white pepper
WHEN SERVING:
salpicón (page 108)
12 small cornmeal tortillas
1 ripe, aromatic avocado
limes
PREPARATION
1. For the mayonnaise, squeeze out the lime and mix the juice with the Chipotle chili pepper in a bowl. Peel the garlic clove and finely chop it, then mix this in with the mustard powder, white pepper, and mayonnaise.
2. Grind the allspice grains and cilantro seeds in a mortar, finely crumble the bay leaf, and mix this in with the rest of the spices in a small bowl.
3. Fill up a bowl with the buttermilk and flavor it with one teaspoon of the spice mix. Cut the white fix filet in strips and put them with the shrimp and the squid rings in the buttermilk, then combine these together well.
4. Fill a re-sealable medium-sized plastic bag with the flour. In portions, shake the fish and seafood in the flour well so that they all are consistently floured. Put this aside.
5. In portions, heat up the oil in a large, cast-iron skillet and likewise add in portion-sized servings of the fish pieces and seafood in the pan, then brown these for four minutes.
6. When serving, spread the tortillas with the fish and seafood and arrange some mayonnaise and salpicón over this. Shell the avocado, remove the pit, cut the pulp into slices and layer them over the tortillas. Divide the limes into eights and serve them with the tortillas.
SCOTT’S TIP:
The spice mix should be placed in an airtight container to retain its flavor and lasts for a few months.
ENSELADA DE CAMARÓN AGUACATE Y PAPAYA
PAPAYA-AVOCADO PRAWN SALAD
This salad is absolutely suitable for beginners, and also looks really impressive. This is exquisite as an elegant appetizer.
PRODUCES 4 SERVINGS
2 ripe avocados
1 small, ripe papaya
1 red bell pepper
½ pound (250 g) kitchen-ready, cooked prawns
¼ cup (60 g) unsalted sunflower seeds
2–3 tablespoons Vinagre de Milagros (page 63)
1 lettuce head
When garnishing:
aromatic, ripe strawberries
finely sliced red onions
PREPARATION
1. Shell the avocados and the papaya and finely dice them. Wash the bell pepper, halve it, clean it, then cut it into fine strips. Combine everything with the prawns, the sunflower seeds, and the vinaigrette in a bowl.
2. Clean the lettuce head, wash it, and spread the leaves onto four plates. Dress the prawn salad with dressing over the lettuce.
3. Wash the strawberries and halve them. Together with the onion rings, garnish the berries and rings on top of the salad.
SCOTT’S TIP:
Crab also works really well in this recipe.
ATÚN CON MARINADA DE CHILE Y JENGIBRE
TUNA FISH IN A CHILI-GINGER MARINADE
This quickly grilled tuna fish—which tastes best when cooked on a charcoal grill—has a really delicate flavor when combined with mango salsa (page 52) and rice.
PRODUCES 4 SERVINGS
4 slices of tuna fish amounting to ½ pound (200 g), about ¾–1 inch (2–3 cm) thick
2 dried Arból chili peppers
½ small red onion
1–1 ½ inches (3-4 cm) fresh ginger
1–3 cloves
1–2 limes
⅞ cup (200 ml) soy sauce
¼ cup (50 g) sesame seeds
PREPARATION
1. Lay the tuna fish on an appropriate-sized baking dish.
2. Crumble the Arból chili peppers. Peel the red onion and finely chop it. Shell the ginger and finely chop it, grate it, or squeeze it. Crush the clove(s). Squeeze out the limes and mix the juice in with the soy sauce. Then stir in the rest of the aromas.
3. Fold the marinade in with the tuna fish. Marinate the fish for thirty minutes and turn it over once.
4. Lift the tuna fish out of the marinade and grill each piece 6 inches (15 cm) away from each other on the grill for four minutes on both sides.
SEA BASS VERACRUZANA
Veracruzana is a specific way to prepare fish with tomatoes, olives, and capers, similar to what we know of the Spanish kitchen. The Veracruz city lies on the Caribbean Coast of Mexico in the eastern part of the country. Jalapeño chili peppers were also originally cultivated there.
PRODUCES 4 SERVINGS
2¼ pounds (1 kg) sea bass filet (or white fish, as desired)
1 lime
1 onion
2 small garlic cloves
⅓ cup (80 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1¾ pounds (800 g) ripe tomatoes
2 small bay leaves
½ teaspoon oregano
10 green-stained olives
2 tablespoons capers
2 Jalapeño chili peppers
sea salt
PREPARATION
1. Prick the fish filet consistently with a fork. Squeeze out the lime, lay the fish in an oven-safe mold, and sprinkle the lime juice over the fish. Let the fish marinate for two hours while chilled.
2. In the meantime, peel the onion and the garlic cloves and cut them into paper-thin slices. Heat up a pan with two tablespoons olive oil. Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil on low heat until they are glazed. Remove the stalks from the tomatoes, wash them, chop them, and add them to the pan. Stir in the bay leaves and the oregano. Halve the olives and stir them together with the capers. Wearing kitchen gloves, halve the Jalapeño chili peppers lengthwise, remove the seeds, finely chop them, and stir these into the sauce as well. Salt the sauce and let it simmer for ten minutes.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F (170°C). Spoon the sauce over the fish, then drizzle the rest of the olive oil over the fish. Loosely cover the fish with aluminum foil and cook it for twenty minutes. Douse the fish now and then repeatedly with the sauce.
