Ok, we are into something like the millionty-leventh day of weather over 110 degrees, and I can't remember the last time we turned on the stove at our house. The thought of adding any more ambient heat to ones existential plight would make a body insane. I have no interest in turning on the stove in the near future. The thought of it makes me feel like some bedraggled doomed character in a Sam Peckinpah landscape. And yet, we must eat.
Quite possibly, the wonderful Tex-Mex versions of gazpacho and ceviche, both served very cold, were devised in seasons like this. Here's a ceviche recipe from Bon Appetit that comes from someone whose nombre de familia is Hernandez, from San Antonio, so you know it's legit. I plan to try it very soon, but I am not a ceviche purist who insists, at great length and volume, that you have to let the lime juice cook the fish, that it's cheating if you turn on a stove, etc. I plan to use scallops with the fish, and will probably flash-grill them in a panini press, because we like the slightly charred and salmonella-thwarting approach to our ceviche. To Johnny Hernandez: muchas gracias, compadre, por eso ceviche muy excellente. Hace mucho calor in Fort Worse, Tejas.
Ceviche Verde
By Johnny Hernandez
La Gloria
San Antonio, TX
• 1 pound fresh Pacific halibut or other firm-fleshed fish
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
• 3/4 cup green olives, sliced
• 1/2 cup tomatillos, diced
• 1/4 cup onion, very finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and minced (optional)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Tostadas or tortilla chips
• Ingredient info: To ripen avocados more quickly, place them in a sealed paper bag with an apple or a banana for 24 hours.
• Preparation
• Chop fish into 1/2" cubes; place in medium bowl. Add kosher salt; toss to coat. Add lime juice; toss to coat. Marinate until the edges of the cubes begin to turn opaque, tossing occasionally, about 30 minutes.
• Dice avocados; add to bowl along with green olives, tomatillos, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño Add olive oil and season to taste with salt.
• Serve over tostadas or with tortilla chips for dipping.
(Photo credit: Zach DeSart / Bon Appetit
