Ceviche is a South American dish that originated in Peru but today almost every country in that part of the world has it’s own recipe. The fish or shellfish is marinated in either lemon, lime or any citrus juice to add flavour but also to denature the fish because the citric acid cooks the fish without heat. Traditionally it was marinated for 3 hours but nowadays it’s for as long as it takes to mix the ingredients and serve it to the guests. The recipe comes from Mexico and is one of the truly great versions because it can be whipped up in no time at all and is always a winner.

Ingredients

• 450 g fish or shellfish, cut into 1 cm cubes or even smaller
• 350 ml freshly squeezed lime juice (or lemon if you don’t have limes)
• 225 g tomatoes, peeled, de-seeded and chopped
• 1 tiny onion, very finely chopped
• 2 jalapeño or 4 any other hot chilli’s, deseeded and finely chopped
• 100 g fresh, chopped coriander
• Limes

Method

• Place the fish neatly into a glass serving dish so that you cover the bottom of the dish with a single layer of fish and pour over the lime (or lemon) juice until the fish is covered;
• Cover the dish with cling wrap and chill for 5 – 6 hours in the refrigerator;
• As soon as the fish is opaque, lift it out of the juice and set aside;
• In a separate bowl, combine all the other ingredients