Peruvian Ceviche with Leche de Tigre
Peruvian ceviche does not marinate for hours: the fish is mixed with lime juice and served within minutes, once the surface has turned opaque and the centre is still tender. The juice left in the bowl is leche de tigre, and in Peru it is drunk separately, in a glass. Twenty-five minutes of work and no cooking at all — everything rests on the quality of the fish and on keeping it cold.
Ingredients
- 600 g very fresh white fish (sea bass, sole or grouper)
- 12 limes (about 200 ml of juice)
- 1 large red onion
- 1 hot chilli, deseeded
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 cm fresh ginger
- 1 celery stick
- Salt
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 200 g cooked corn kernels
- Fresh coriander leaves
Method
- 1
⚠️ The fish must be very fresh and previously frozen. Twenty-four hours at −20 °C kills anisakis larvae, and that is what regulations in most countries require for fish served raw. This is not an optional precaution.
- 2
Boil the sweet potatoes in their skins until tender, peel and slice thickly. Boil the corn. Both go in cold or lukewarm and are not garnish: the sweetness of the potato is what balances the acidity.
- 3
Slice the onion paper-thin and leave it 10 minutes in iced water. That takes the edge off without costing the crunch.
- 4
Cut the fish into even two-centimetre cubes. Cut unevenly, some stay raw and others go over.
- 5
For the leche de tigre: blend the lime juice with the garlic, ginger, celery, a piece of the chilli and a few cubes of the fish itself. Strain. That small piece of fish is what gives it body and turns it white.
- 6
Salt the fish and wait two minutes. Salt before acid: the juice then penetrates evenly instead of sliding off.
- 7
Pour the leche de tigre over the fish and mix. Leave it 2 to 5 minutes, no longer. Peruvian ceviche is a short marinade: past ten minutes the fish turns opaque through to the centre and the texture goes mealy.
- 8
Add the drained onion and the finely chopped chilli, and check the salt.
- 9
Serve at once with the sweet potato, the corn and coriander on top. The liquid at the bottom goes separately in a small glass: that is the leche de tigre.