Cold cooked fish

By Kady Guyton
July 27, 2009

Halibut ceviche with avacado and tortilla chips. Click for larger image.

This week's column was requested by reader Brad Carter, who asked about a halibut ceviche recipe. Because it's approximately a billion degrees outside, I'm looking for anything that will create a meal without heat. So, good timing, Brad, thanks for asking.

Ceviche (pronounced "say-VEE-chay") is one of those dishes that sounds like it shouldn't work. Put raw fish in citrus juice, leave and come back to cooked fish. In reality, it's pure chemistry in action. The citric acid denatures the proteins in the fish, causing them to tighten up and become "cooked". Depending on the fish used, this can take anywhere from two minutes to several hours.

Ceviche is a uniquely Latin American dish that can be found all over Central and South America. Each country has put its own spin on it using local ingredients and tastes to come up with something new. While researching recipes, I found several from Ecuador that suggested popcorn as an accompaniment.

No matter what is served with it, there are a couple basic rules to follow: 1) Do not compromise on the fish and 2) Get the freshest ingredients possible. Any time raw fish is being used, spend the money for the quality stuff. Once the investment has been made for good fish, there's really no reason not to track down equally good ingredients. The fish deserves it.

(The good people at Nevada City Seafood Inc. are an excellent source of seafood information.)

Halibut is one of my favorite fish to eat. Native to the Pacific, it can grow up to 600 pounds. (What Alaska fisherman would refer to as a "barn door halibut".) Because it's a deep water fish, preferring the cold and dark, it's virtually impossible to farm. This means that halibut is hormone-free and organic without even trying. Plus, extremely low in fat.

When I lived in Juneau, we called it the chicken of the ocean because of it's extremely mild flavor and ability to pair with any sort of seasonings. If you've always found fish to be too "fishy" in flavor, give halibut a shot. You might discover something new.

Because the meat is so firm, slice it into small chunks of 1/2 inch to 3/4 inches in size. Make sure there's enough lime juice to cover the fish while it's marinating. Because the fish is being cooked by the juice, it's important that it be fully covered.

I used a red bell pepper in this recipe because I like them. Mango or fresh tomato would be equally good. If the tomato route is chosen, remove the seeds and pulp or you may find the final product a little too soupy.

Serve the finished dish with tortilla chips, salad or popcorn. A cold Corona would also pair well.

Halibut Ceviche
Serves 4-6

2 lbs. halibut fillets
juice of four limes
1 jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded and minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. chopped scallions
1/4 c. chopped, fresh coriander (cilantro)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 ripe Haas avocados, peeled and diced
salt and freshly ground pepper

Cut halibut into small squares. Place in a non-reactive bowl, mix with the juice of 3 of the limes, cover and 4-5 hours, mixing once to marinate. Shortly before serving, remove fish from lime juice with a slotted spoon. Drain well and place pieces in a shallow bowl. (Fish should be white and opaque.) Discard the liquid.

Mix fish with juice of remaining lime, jalapeno, scallion, coriander. Gently fold in avocado. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate again and serve within 30 minutes.