Try this cool take on seafood for summer
Avoid citrus marinade to achieve success with this easy seafood dish
Some people view ceviche, or a raw or cured fish dish, as an appetizer. For me, it’s dinner.
I just love it, but I didn’t always love ceviche. The first time I made it, I did as directed and I thought it was just awful. A lot of recipes instruct you to marinate the fish overnight in citrus juice. This “cooks” the fish and renders it “safe,” but what it really did was make it chewy and bitter.
As I learned more about this method of preparation, I discovered that less time spent in citrus was better. I figured that if you could eat sushi and sashimi, the citrus could be part of the seasoning, and not a way to ruin fish.
A simple way to serve prawns or scallops is tossed with a bit of olive oil, lemon or lime zest, and sea salt. For texture, I find that it’s better to halve or quarter scallops unless they are small, or if your knife skills are good, slice them in half horizontally. Prawns are good sliced in half horizontally as well. Cut fish into 1/2-inch (1.25-cm) cubes.
As for food safety, what makes eating raw fish safe is using safe handling practices and making sure the fish has been frozen according to the following guidelines.
Seafood products to be served raw must:
Have been frozen at a temperature of -20°C (-4°F) for seven days, or below -35°C (-31°F) for 15 hours, to destroy parasites that might be present. Unless: The fish was aquaculture-raised and fed formulated feed that contained no live parasites infective to the fish or the product is confirmed as tuna of the species yellowfin, bluefin, bigeye, albacore, or blackfin.
At-risk diners (older adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems) should avoid raw seafood such as sushi, raw oysters, clams, mussels and refrigerated smoked seafood.
Fish called “sushi or sashimi grade” indicates a high-quality fish. Though many people think of it as a safe fish, it’s not the case unless it has been frozen as above.
Spot Prawn Ceviche Refreshing seafood drink can also be made with halibut. I love this recipe from my former colleague, Danilo Ibarra, who is executive chef at the Vancouver Airport Marriott hotel. He says that this is also great made with halibut. Makes four to six appetizer servings or three to four main dish servings
1 lb (500 g) headless spot prawns, peeled and deveined ½ cup (125 mL) diced red onions ½ cup (125 mL) diced tomatoes 1 stalk celery, diced juice of 2 limes juice of 1 lemon 1 cup (250 mL) Clamato juice 1 tsp (5 mL) ground cumin seed ½ tsp (2.5 mL) sea salt 1 medium avocado, peeled and diced 1 cup (250 mL) loosely packed, coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and small stems
Slice the prawns in half horizontally or cut crosswise into 2-3 pieces depending on their size. Mix all of the ingredients except the avocado and cilantro together. Cover and let it chill in the fridge for a minimum of 1 and up to 3 hours. Gently stir in the avocado and cilantro. Serve with plantain chips, tortilla chips or soda crackers.
Salte d Salmon with C har re d Corn Make four to six appetizer servings, or three to four main dish servings
1 lb (454 g) boneless, skinless sashimi-grade sockeye salmon filet, thawed 1/3 cup (80 mL) sea salt 2-1/2 cups (625 mL) diced tomato 1/2 cup (125 mL) finely diced white onion 1/2 cup (125 mL) coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and small stems 2 tbsp (30 mL) minced Serrano chili 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) charred corn kernels, approximately 1 large cob 1 medium avocado, peeled, seeded and diced 2 tbsp (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil 4 tbsp (60 mL) fresh lime juice
Place the salmon filet on a large piece of plastic wrap. Evenly cover all sides with the salt and wrap tightly. Place on a pan and fit a smaller pan over it that covers the salmon. Place a weight in the pan, such as a small can, bag of water, etc. and let sit for 24 hours refrigerated. Remove the plastic wrap, rinse well and pat dry.
When ready to serve, dice the salmon into 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) cubes. Toss with the remaining ingredients and serve immediately.
To make the charred corn, husk fresh ears of corn and get a cast iron pan smoking hot.
Add the corn and rotate it as the kernels start to blacken. Just a small spot of black is right; the whole kernel does not need to be black.
Remove from the pan and cool.
Shave off the kernels with a sharp knife.