I'm a firm believer that trying out new food causes the same level of endorphins to run through your body as traveling to a new place does. Also, the stranger the better. Of course, I'm not a scientist and that hypothesis could very well be dismissed by one – but, not offense to scientists, I've know that for a fact since I was 4.
Growing up, my parents never gave us "kiddie" food. We were not presented with a plate of cutely chopped up fruit and nuggets at the dinner table. Instead, we were sat down in front of assortments of food, which if it hadn't been for the normality of it all, I'd have found terrifying to say the least. In my mother's repertoire there were oven baked fish (skin, bones, HEAD and all), bone broth, an assortment of seafood that ranged from raw fish to still-moving raw clams and much more. And now in my advanced age of "ahem!" those are the sorts of things I crave.
Yes, the try-everything-once mentality I carried on from those years has gotten me into a bit of trouble. I've had the sad luck of eating some treacherous, salmonella-inducing dishes in my lifetime (all of those tried away from home)... but as many deep thinkers would say, "You gotta risk it to get the biscuit". The biscuit, in this case, is that rush I mentioned before.
I digress.
This ceviche was a weekend favorite in my house and I still regard it with the same awe today. I don't really know if you can call this "cooking" but for the sake of sharing some happiness with you, I’ll share my recipe for – let’s call it, "Ana's Must-Eat Cevish"… No? Ok, then.
Leche de Tigre (say that three times) or "Tiger's Milk", is a Peruvian concoction traditionally made from the citrusy marinade of ceviche. And this is what will go into the chopped up fish:
The Recipe
Download in PDF
1/3 cup of fresh orange juice
1/4 cup of fresh lime juice
1/2 garlic clove
Kosher salt to taste
Puree all the ingredients in a blender and you're done!
Next, you will also need:
1/2 ounces of your favorite semi firm fish
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup of diced avocado
1/2 teaspoon of chili flakes or fresh chili
Chili oil, half a lime and some sort of springs for serving. I personally prefer coriander.
Now for the hardest part (just kidding):
Cut the fish in equal size cubes (it helps if everything is cooked in the tiger milk at the same time) and pour the concoction plus the rest of the ingredients you prepared earlier and toss gently to combine; let it sit for 5 minutes and add your chili oil and coriander springs. Taste to see if it needs more lime or salt and serve that with a crunchy side dish.
I like mine with chips. The ones pictured above are sweet potato chips.
… and just like that, you've made yourself a bowl of your next obsession. Avocado toast, who?
