Ceviche was typically on the menu in eating places throughout my journey to Yucatán, Mexico. Ceviche is uncooked seafood that’s ‘cooked’ by marinating it in citrus juice. What shocked me most after I ordered it in Yucatán, was that it was black in colour. The black colour might be from a ‘fusion’ ingredient like soy sauce or Maggi seasoning, making it extra like a Peruvian fusion dish known as tiradito. However it may also be from the black seasoning utilized in Mayan cooking in Yucatán known as recado negro, which can be used to make Relleno Negro. And naturally the juice of Seville oranges ought to be used, the ever-present ingredient in Mayan cooking. Uncooked shrimp additionally gave the impression to be a continuing think about Yucatese ceviche. The end result is a superb ceviche with a scrumptious and unique taste from the charred substances within the recado negro. In Mexico ceviche was served with tostados, toasted corn tortillas, on the aspect.
The recado negro is just mildly spicy. For additional spiciness, serve a habanero salsa on the aspect. Just a few drops blended in (and only some drops) will add a further dimension.
The same dish in Mexico is named aguachile. The distinction between aguachile and ceviche is that aguachile is served straight after mixing the marinade with the seafood, quite than permitting it to ‘cook dinner’ within the citrus juice for a while. Since that ‘cooking’ course of occurs quite rapidly, particularly with skinny items of seafood, and for finest outcomes the marinating time of ceviche shouldn’t be so lengthy anyway, I don’t suppose the distinction is as profound as some make it out to be.
It’s fantastic if the shrimps have been frozen quite than contemporary. That will truly be higher, as a result of freezing kills any parasites which may be current within the shrimp. I like to recommend to make use of unpeeled and wild-caught shrimp for this. Purple snapper is probably the most acceptable fish (as it’s what’s utilized in Mexico), however I’ve used European sea bass as a result of that’s out there right here. As normal, the Seville oranges might be substituted by a mix of normal oranges and limes.
Substances
For 4 servings
- 150 grams (5-6 oz) sashimi grade snapper or sea bass fillet
- 150 grams (5-6 oz) peeled and deveined shrimp, 300 grams (.66 lb) with heads and shells
- 45 grams (3 Tbsp) recado negro, from this recipe
- 250 ml (1 cup) Seville orange juice, or a mix of 100 ml orange and 150 ml lime juice
- 15 grams (1/2 oz) chopped contemporary cilantro (with out stems)
- 75 grams (3 oz) purple onion, quartered and thinly sliced
- 125 grams (4-5 oz) cucumber, diced
- 1 sliced avocado (non-obligatory)
- salt
- 4 toasted corn tortillas (tostados)
- habanero salsa (non-obligatory), from this recipe
Preparation
Peel the purple onion, minimize it in quarters, and slice thinly. Soak the sliced onion in chilly water for at the very least half an hour to mellow its taste.
Peel the shrimp. Reduce in half lengthwise.
Take away the vein.
Rinse the shrimp with chilly water and pat dry with paper towels. Relying on the scale of your shrimp, it’s possible you’ll want to chop them into smaller (chew dimension) items.
Slice the snapper or sea bass in chew dimension slices.
Mix the shrimp and fish in a bowl with the recado negro. Add salt should you didn’t put salt into your recado negro.
Combine the seafood and recado. Permit to marinate within the fridge for an hour, lined.
Peel and cube the cucumber. Drain the onion. Add the cucumber, onion, and cilantro to the seafood, along with the orange and lime juice. The juice ought to barely cowl the seafood.
Combine every thing and permit to marinate/cook dinner for about half an hour within the fridge, lined. Stir it after quarter-hour.
Toast the corn tortillas for 10 minutes at 180C/350F, fan pressured, to make tostados.
Take the ceviche out of the fridge about 5 minutes earlier than serving (relying on ambient temperature). The ceviche ought to be cool however not chilly when serving.
Serve the ceviche on a plate…
…or in a cocktail glass. Garnish with cilantro and (non-obligatory) sliced avocado. Serve with tostados and habanero salsa on the aspect.
Wine pairing
At Yucatán-themed wine pairing dinners that I hosted for family and friends, we tried this black ceviche with the next wines:
- Markus Molitor Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 2018 (100% Riesling, Mosel, Germany)
- Citari Vecchio Vigneto San Martino della Battaglia DOC 2019 (100% Friulano, Lombardia, Italy)
- Ceraudo Grisara 2020 Calabria IGT (100% Pecorello, Calabria, Italy)
- Ippolito 1845 Pecorello 2021 Calabria IGT (100% Pecorello, Calabria, Italy)
- Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 2021 (100% Grüner Veltliner, Wachau, Austria)
All wines had been good pairings with the ceviche, however the Grisara was one of the best, with the Citari a detailed runner-up. The Riesling and Grüner Veltliner had been a bit too contemporary/acidic when habanero salsa was added to the ceviche.
