Mixed Seafood Ceviche

This particular ceviche is spicy because the addition of a fair amount of crushed ajís or whatever dried chiles you have available. The use of corn and sweet potatoes signal this dish as being very typically Peruvian. Serve it as an entree for lunch or dinner on those hot and sweltering days of summer. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.

• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 dried ají chiles (Rocoto), seeds and stems removed, crushed in a mortar, or substitute 2 New Mexican chiles (mild) or 6 piquins (hot)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 large red onion, sliced paper thin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound white fish fillets, such as catfish, cut into 1 inch pieces
  1 pound cleaned shellfish (clams, oysters, or mussels or a mix)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, Italian preferred
• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch thick slices
• 3 ears of fresh corn, cleaned and cut into 2-inch thick slices
• 4 Bibb lettuce leaves

Combine all the ingredients except the potatoes, corn, and lettuce a large ceramic bowl, mix well, cover tightly, for 1 hour. If the citrus juice doesn't cover the fish, add more.
Just before serving, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and drop in the sweet potatoes and boil for 10 minutes. Then, add the rounds of corn to the pot and boil for another 10 minutes. Drain the vegetables thoroughly.
Drain the fish in a colander to remove the marinade and arrange the fish on the lettuce on 4 dinner plates. Garnish with the sweet potatoes and the rounds of corn.
4 servings

Ceviche

Photo By PROMPERU

The most popular fish used in Peru is sea bass, or grouper, although every type of seafood and shellfish is used as well. The Peruvian ceviches include a few rounds of cooked corn on the cob and cooked slices of sweet potatoes.

• 1 1/2 pounds sea bass fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces, or substitute swordfish
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 rocoto chiles, seeds and stems removed, thinly sliced into rings, or substitute 1 habanero or 3 jalapeños
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch thick slices
• 3 ears fresh corn, cleaned and cut into 2-inch thick slices
• Bibb lettuce leaves

Place the cut and cleaned fish into a large glass or ceramic bowl and sprinkle with the salt and black pepper. Add 1/2 of the chile rings, onion, lemon juice, lime juice, and the garlic and mix lightly; cover the mixture for 1 hour until the flesh is opaque.
About 30 minutes before serving the fish, cook the sweet potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water for 12 minutes; then, add the corn to pot and cook for 10 minutes more, until tender. Drain the vegetables and reserve them, at room temperature, for the garnish.
Drain the fish thoroughly in a colander and arrange the Bibb lettuce leaves on 4 dinner plates. Place the fish on the lettuce leaves and garnish with the reserved chile rings, and surround the fish with the wheels of cooked sweet potatoes and corn.

4 servings