Salmon ceviche is a festive beginning for summer entertaining or a bright palate pick-me-up as a first course for wintertime dinner parties. Here, I spoon it into stemware for a dressed-up look, but for more casual times, it can be served in a bowl with tortillas as an appetizer for eight. It calls for a few easy do-ahead steps, but it is best eaten the day it is made.
Serves 6 as a first course
1 medium ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/4-in [6-mm] dice
1 small red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and cut into 1/4-in [6-mm] dice
1 small jalapeño or serrano chile, stemmed, halved lengthwise, seeded, deribbed, and minced
1/2 cup [15 g] chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/3 cup [45 g] finely diced red onion
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice, plus 1/3 cup [80 ml]; plus 1 lime, cut into 6 wedges
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp fine sea salt
One 12-oz [340-g] center-cut salmon fillet (see Cook’s Note, facing page), skin and pin bones removed
1In a medium bowl, combine the mango, bell pepper, chile, cilantro, red onion, 2 Tbsp lime juice, olive oil, and 1 tsp of the salt. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours.
2Meanwhile, using a very sharp knife, cut the salmon into 1/4-in [6-mm] dice. Place the salmon in a medium bowl. (At this point the salmon can be tightly covered and refrigerated for up to 4 hours.) Gently fold in the remaining 1/3 cup [80 ml] lime juice and the remaining 1 tsp salt. Cover and refrigerate to “cook” the salmon in the citrus for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 hour.
3When ready to serve, pour off the lime juice from the salmon. Gently fold the salmon into the mango mixture. Spoon into martini or margarita glasses and garnish each serving with a lime wedge.