Sea Bream and Watermelon Ceviche

My ceviche is inspired by the memory of buying watermelon from a farmer’s open-top trailer in cyprus, then eating the sweet fruit with the juices running down my chin and the salty breath of the sea.

serves 2 As A starter, or 4 As A Meze

1 sea bream fillet, approx 120g

1 garlic clove

Freshly squeezed juice of 2 lemons

70g watermelon, flesh diced into ½-inch cubes 20g red onion, finely diced 1tsp finely diced fresh red chilli

A generous pinch of freshly chopped coriander leaves 1tbsp olive oil salt crisply toasted pitta bread, to serve 1 If it isn’t already prepared, prepare the fish fillet by skinning and deboning it, and cutting away the darker meat that runs lengthways along the fish where the skin was. The easiest way to do this is, once the fillet is skinned and deboned, simply turn it over (skinned-side up) and cut a ‘V’ lengthways along the middle. Once done, cut the flesh into ½-inch cubes. 2 Gently crush the garlic clove to just break the shell but keep the clove whole, more or less. 3 Add the garlic, cubed fish and lemon juice to a bowl, ensuring the fish is completely covered by the lemon juice. Let it ‘cook’ for 15min, by which time it will have turned opaque. 4 Remove the fish from the lemon juice, shaking off any excess liquid, and place the fish in a clean bowl (reserving the liquid). Add the watermelon, red onion, chilli and coriander a little at a time, tasting to ensure the flavour is evenly balanced. Once done, add the olive oil, a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of the reserved lemon liquid. 5 Serve immediately. It goes well with some crisply toasted pitta bread. >