Ramon’s fish ceviche {Ceviche de pescado}

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Ramon’s fish ceviche {Ceviche de pescado}

This is my brother Ramon’s fish ceviche recipe, aka ceviche de pescado. We make it with fresh fish “cooked” in lime juice with hot peppers and garlic, and then mixed with lime marinated red onions (or shallots), tomatoes, bell peppers, and cilantro. I used to tell Ramon that he could visit us whenever he wanted as long as he made this ceviche for us. Not only is it so good and refreshing, but he also does all the work (cutting the fish, dicing/slicing the vegetables, and squeezing all those limes is hard work). These days when we visit him in Ecuador, he’s still kind enough to prepare it for us. 

Ramon's fish ceviche {Ceviche de pescado}

My brother Ramon’s fish ceviche recipe (ceviche de pescado), made with fish “cooked” in lime juice with hot peppers and garlic, and then mixed with red onions (or shallots), tomatoes, bell peppers, and cilantro.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of white fish fillets (corvina, halibut, sea bass, tilapia, mahi mahi, snapper), cut into small square pieces
• 2-3 hot peppers, can use Ecuadorian style aji peppers, red chilies, or serranos, sliced
• 2-4 garlic cloves, whole but gently crushed (optional)
• 2-3 small red onions, use Ecuadorian style cebolla paiteña or replace with 4-5 large shallots, peeled and finely sliced
• 4 tomatoes, diced
• 2 bell peppers, any color, diced
• ~20 small to medium sized limes, separated into about 10 limes to cook the fish and 10 limes for the onion and tomato marinade
• 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped as finely as possible
• 2-3 tablespoon of oil (avocado oil, sunflower oil, etc)
• Salt to taste

Fish ceviche sides or toppings:
• Chifles or thin plantain chips
• Patacones or tostones
• Tostado style corn nuts or popcorn
• Aji sauce or diced hot peppers for those who want to add extra spice

Instructions

1. Place the diced raw fish in a large bowl or dish with the sliced hot peppers, garlic cloves, a tablespoon of chopped cilantro, 1-2 teaspoons of salt, and cover it with lime juice from about 10 limes, the fish should be completely covered or almost completely covered by the lime juice.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about 3-4 hours.
3. Place the sliced onions or shallots in a bowl, sprinkle them with a few teaspoons of salt and add warm water (enough to cover the onions), let rest for about 10 minutes, drain and rinse well with cold water.
4. Combine the rinsed onions with the diced tomatoes and diced bell peppers. Add the juice from about 5 limes and some salt. Let this mix marinate for at least 10 minutes, it can also be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to mix with the fish.
5. Once the fish is “cooked” in the lime juice, it should be completely white, remove the sliced hot peppers and garlic cloves. Based on your preference, and the acidity level, you can keep all the lime juice where the fish cooked in, or just some of it. You can strain the liquid to remove any pieces of hot peppers (or seeds) or garlic.
6. Add the marinated onion or shallot, tomato, and bell pepper mix to the fish. Add the chopped cilantro, oil, salt and additional lime juice to taste. You can serve immediately or let it rest for another 20-30 minutes before serving.
7. Serve with chifles, patacones, popcorn or corn nuts as well as with some good hot sauce or aji.

Our family has always been pro spicy food and we add aji or spicy hot sauce to almost anything. You should have seen the look on the French relatives faces when they saw Ramon add some Tabasco to his foie gras. Ramon’s fish ceviche is similar to my friend Mafi’s recipe, however he adds spicy hot peppers (just sliced) and some garlic cloves (gently crushed) to infuse spiciness into the fish. He removes the hot peppers and garlic before adding the rest of ingredients, and will dice the hot peppers so that if anyone wants extra heat they can add it to their own individual ceviche bowl.

In Ecuador we have a small red onion variety – called cebolla paiteña – that is spicier and stronger than the red onions that are common in the US and Europe. When Ramon started preparing ceviche in the US he found that shallots were more similar to the Ecuadorian cebolla paiteña and used them for this ceviche. I find that slicing shallots is a pain, so depending on the amount of time (and patience) that I have, I sometimes will use regular red onions. Though, I do try to buy smaller red onions when I make ceviche and onion curtido.

Ceviche is one of those mouthwatering dishes that is perfect for a warm day or when you want to reminisce about those relaxing days spent at the beach. The younger me would add that ceviche is also a great hangover cure. You can make it with many different types of seafood and non-seafood ingredients. But when most people think of ceviche, it’s usually the fish variation, especially since ceviche made with fish is the one where the lime juice “cooks” the fish. I use quotes because the fish might look like it’s cooked, but it does not cook to the same extent as when you cook it over a heat source. This is why there are warnings and if you have any condition that prevents you from eating raw fish or sushi, then the same probably applies to most variations of fish ceviche.

Now for other types of ceviche, like shrimp or octopus, at least in Ecuador, the seafood is actually cooked with regular heat and then marinated with the lime juice and vegetables. It essentially depends on the seafood, the more delicate and the fresher seafood is more likely it is to be cooked with lime juice. Other ceviches containing raw seafood include oysters, scallops, and the mouthwatering ceviche de concha, a ceviche made from fresh black clams, which you can usually prepare fresh and serve immediately. You can complement this ceviche with chifles (thin green plantain chips) or patacones/tostones (thick green plantain chips), tostado or cancha style corn nuts, popcorn, and hot sauce for an extra kick.

Step by step photos for how to make fish ceviche:

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to make empanada dough for baking

How to make empanada dough for baking

Making homemade empanada dough is not as hard as you might think, especially if you have a food processor. And even if you don’t have one, it is still pretty easy to make by hand because the dough doesn’t need be overworked, and requires minimal kneading. Empanadas, also known as turnovers or hand pies, are one of my favorite foods. They’re so versatile and can be made with an infinite number of delicious fillings – you can be as creative as you want with empanada fillings. Empanadas are also the perfect way to use leftovers, especially when a) you don’t enough for a full meal of leftovers and b) you want something different.

Easy recipe with step-by-step photos for homemade empanada dough.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ to 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 oz unsalted butter 1 ½ sticks
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of water or milk adjust as needed to obtain a soft and smooth dough

Instructions

Making homemade empanada dough:

• Mix the flour and salt in a food processor.
• Add the butter and pulse
• Add the egg and the water or milk (in small increments) and continue pulsing until a clumpy dough forms.
• To make the empanada dough by hand, follow the same instruction but use your hands to mix the ingredients together.
• Split the dough into 2 large ball, flatten slightly into the shape of disks. The dough can be used immediately or refrigerated until ready to use (1-2 days max).
• Roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas (use round molds or a small plate). You can also make small individual balls with the dough and roll out each individual ball to a round shape (doesn't need to be perfectly round) - if you have a tortilla press you can use it to flatten the dough balls.
• Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator/freezer to use later.

Assembling and baking the empanadas:

• To assemble the empanadas or turnovers, place a spoonful of the filling on the middle of each empanada disc. The amount of filling will vary based on the size of the empanada, but in general, it’s easier to seal an empanada that isn’t overstuffed. Also, the more you make empanadas, the easier it becomes to stuff them to the max and still seal them properly.
• To seal the empanadas, fold the disc and seal the edges by pressing the dough with your fingers. If you’re having a hard time sealing the edges, you can use brush the inside edges with egg white, it will act as a glue for the empanadas. You can also use a fork to help seal the edges, just press the top of the fork against the edges. To the repulgue or churito, the curl type seal, use your fingers to twist the curl the edges. There are also empanada molds that you can buy and will help seal the empanadas.
• For best results, I recommend refrigerating for at least 30 minutes the empanadas before baking – this also helps them seal better and prevents the filling from leaking out.
• If you want your empanadas to have a nice golden finish, then you can brush them with egg wash (a whole egg whisked or egg yolk plus a few drops of water whisked).
• Bake the empanadas in a pre-heated oven. I usually bake them at 375F-400F, the temperature will vary based on the oven and the size of the empanadas. I bake the smaller sized empanadas at 375F. The baking time also varies (again based on the oven and size), but it’s in the range of 18-25 minutes – the empanadas will be ready once they are golden.

These days it is very easy to find the empanada discs already made (frozen) in Latin grocery stores, and even though I was skeptical at first, they are actually quite good. However, homemade always taste better and fresher. Another benefit of making homemade empanada dough for baking is that you can customize the dough by adding spices or herbs that will add flavor and complement or contrast with the fillings. You can also make a large batch of homemade empanada dough, roll it out and cut it into discs, then freeze the discs (separate with wax paper) for later use.

Step by step photos of how to make homemade empanada dough: