03/27/2015
Belle Ceviche
Salmon Fillet, sliced thinly sashimi style
Passion Fruit Juice, unsweetened
Sea Salt
Ginger, about ¼ inch peeled
Pink Peppercorns
1 Green Onion.
1 Chile, either a red serrano or ideally a yellow/orange Ají Amarillo (these are from the Amazon and hard to get fresh in the US though you will find them pickled or in a bottle hot sauce readily enough)
2 Limes, juiced
In a mortar & pestle, mash the ginger, pepper and sea salt into a paste. Use the juice of one lime to facilitate its processing. In a ceramic or glass bowl, place the salmon slices (remove the skin with a sharp knife and and grey whitish fat) and rub in the ginger-pepper paste. Cover the fish with sufficient passion fruit juice and the juice of the second lime. Trim and clean the green onion. Add it whole to the marinating fish. Add in the chile thinly sliced. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow the fish to cure overnight. The liquid is a concoction called leche de jaguar. You'll need some for the rocoto jam.
Cook four to five batata (sweet potato is an acceptable substitute as are yams but these are much bigger so two to three of these should suffice) in a pot of salted boiling water. About 15 minutes for batata and 20-25 for sweet potatoes. Allow to cool. Dice two green onions finely. Mash the batata into a purée incorporating the scallions. Salt and pepper to taste.
For the Rocoto Jam, roast four or five rocoto chilies either in the oven at 450º F or over an open flame until the skin is charred and blackened. Place into a paper bag sealing it with a twist. Allow the chilies to cool 15 minutes before handling. Peel off the charred skin and remove the stem and any seeds. In a blender, puree the rocoto with about a third of cup of the leche de jaguar from the salmon. Transfer to a small stock pot. Add in half cup of panela (brown sugar is acceptable substitute but panela can be obtained at most Latin markets. Also Malaysian Palm Sugar paster would work well too). Bringing the mixture to a soft boil stirring with a whisk. The mixture will thicken. Allow it to reduce until it is thicker but still runny. Allow to cool 15 minutes.
To arrange the Belle Ceviche, drain the salmon from any remaining leche de jaguar. The leche may be reused in another ceviche, in Pisco or Rum Sours or Mojitos or if you sweet it with honey for a glaze for a baked fish. Discard the onion though the sliced chilies may be retained. Gently pat dry the fish with a paper towel to remove any excess liquid. The fish should be a nice salmon pink. Arrange the fish on a platter or serving tray laying it out in an oval, each slice partially on top of the last. Garnish with cut thin slices of nori, chopped chives and toasted sesame seeds.
Cut a carambola (star fruit) into thin slices. Allow a half a carambola per person. Arrange the slices decoratively along the fish. Pipe the batata purée onto the platter and provide the rocoto chili jam as a sauce.
To eat, take a slice or two of the salmon and place on a slice of star fruit. Japanese pickled ginger, gari, also goes well with this ceviche.
¡Buen Provecho!
-c
