CEVICHE OR SEVICHE?
It's the week before Christmas, and all through the house...nothing from the sea has half a chance of staying
alive...isn't that how the poem goes?? For us Italian-American types this is MAKE SURE you ordered your
seafood week. Why? On Christmas Eve our tradition is to cook a sumptuous meal of as much or as little
fish/seafood as your budget will allow. I received a beautiful shipment from the West Coast of these enormous
U-8 (8 to a lb) Scallops...(they may have even been bigger) from CATALINA OFFSHORE PRODUCTS
(http://www.catalinaop.com/Jumbo_Scallops_U_8_p/sushi_shellfish_2a1.htm). While they are great to
cook with, these giant deepwater scallops, known in Mexico as Mano de Leon (Lion's paw for the shell
shape)are awesomely suited for raw preparations, like Sashimi (known as Hototegai) or even better, for
Ceviche (Seviche, Sebiche, Cebiche, it's all the same...). Can you guess what my preference is??
These scallops are hand picked by divers in lagoons in Baja California. Amazing creatures! The only
prepping I had to do, they were seasalty clean, was to remove the adductor muscle on the side, simple.
\Gentle pull it off from the side, or use a sharp small knife, it's really easy. Then slice them into thin slices, using
at least 6 of them for a Ceviche for 4-5 people. What's a Ceviche?? It's a bright, refreshing, bracing appetizer which
is a gift to us from either South America or the South Pacific. It's a blending of the freshest raw seafood or fish
with fresh citrus juice and chiles. The acids in the juice actually "cook" the fish, so you are not eating "raw" fish
if that at all puts you off.
My first foray into this world of Ceviche, was actually having a "CRUDO", a similarly made dish, translating as
RAW at ESCA Restaurant when it first opened years ago. That night's featured CRUDO was a sea scallop with
Blood Orange juice AND infused Sicilian Olive Oil. Amazing. FYI, I still do not care for sushi or sashimi, please,
do not throw your Bento Boxes at me...you don't want me to tell you I like everything..do you? That would be
false, and I'm not eating anything I don't like, nor would I push that on you. I know, I'm missing out..but, I've
tried..even in the hallowed halls of NOBU, NYC, Matshuhisa, LA, KOI, LA...I've tried. I'll take the Tempura
Mix please. Back to Ceviche...you would serve this as an appetizer, like you would a shrimp cocktail, or as a
main dish with avocado, sweetpotato slices, and a salad..very Central and South American...
In a bowl, finely dice a small sweet or red onion (if using a large red onion, only 1/4 of it please, don't overpower
the other flavors with onion), dice 1 small clove of garlic; finely chop 1 small handful of FRESH mint, thinly slice
2 Fennel stalks, 1 small red or green chile pepper..1/2 tsp orange zest, 1/2 tsp. lime zest, 2 tsps. of Piri-Piri
Sauce, or any good hot sauce, the juice of one liime, and the juice of one orange, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
flakes, 1/2 tsp. vinegar, 4 tbs. of good Olive Oil. 1 bay leaf. Blend together. Add the scallop slices. Make sure they are
all well coated with the mixture. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 hours. Sea salt to taste before serving.
As with all fresh seafood, the rules of common sense and food sanitation are paramount here. The fish must be
absolutely cold and fresh, minimal time for it to be out of the fridge. If your scallops (and for this dish any
dry sea scallop or even tiny bay scallops will work, but these Baja California beauties I think are on this Earth for
this ceviche-ing) have any smell to them at all, you cannot try a raw preparation with them. And if that's the case, a
trip back to where you bought them may be in order. Nothing is worth a case of food poisoning over.
My buddy Frankie P., a ceviche afficionado, enjoyed not only the scallop, but the Tiger Milk as they call i that's
left after the fish has been eaten. As Frankie and Anthony Bourdain tell us, it's the best cure for a hangover, OR, just
a damn delicious way to finish up a great dish. Lift that plate to your mouth or pour it into a glass..Salud~~
Posted by peter battaglia at 12/18/2011 10:30 AM 
Categories: SCALLOPS, SEAFOOD, CEVICHE, SEVICHE
Tags: SCALLOPS CEVICHE SEVICHE RAW SEAFOOD
Categories: SCALLOPS, SEAFOOD, CEVICHE, SEVICHE
Tags: SCALLOPS CEVICHE SEVICHE RAW SEAFOOD
Peter, this ceviche [how we usually spell it here!] looks wondrously appetizing, as do the marvellous scallope ere being cut up. The best 'crudo' I have eaten has been in Tahiti and Fiji, but usually made with white fish fillets rather than other seafood. A wonderful dish, but, yes - take care with freshness/prep. And I do speak from experience . . .
Peter, since I do not know whether you will have the time for another blog ere the Christmas bells begin chiming: May I wish you and your beautiful family the most joyous of times and both perrsonally and professionally the best of years in 2012. One of the really fun things this year has been 'getting to know you'
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In Spain Christmas without seafood is not Christmas meal. Very nice, looking forward for more Peruvian recipes. Merry Christmas!
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