September 24, 2010

Cookbook Challenge: Week 45, Raw

Agnes cookbook challenge, recipe

Recipe: Ceviche with coconut dressing
From: Marie and Claire Food and Drink

I really struggled with the theme for the Cookbook Challenge this week, which was “raw”. At first I thought I would do a salad, but none of the salads I found that were completely raw excited me.

But if there’s one thing doing these posts every week have taught me – think a little harder! And this little noggin eventually came up with far more exciting things than salad: ceviche, tataki, steak tartare, and sashimi.

I decided to do ceviche, which is a seafood dish that’s particularly popular in Central and South America. Typically in ceviche, fresh raw fish is marinated in lemon/lime juice and additional seasonings. While the acid in the citrus “cooks” the fish (the citric acid denatures the proteins), it’s not actually cooked with heat so I’m still counting it as raw for the purposes of the theme this week.The second thing that I’ve learnt from doing these posts every week is that it’s okay to stretch the theme a little. 🙂

To make the ceviche, I marinated raw bite sized pieces of a white, firm-fleshed fish in lime juice for a couple of hours. The fish was then drained and added to a coconut cream dressing. It was very easy to prepare and for food hygiene reasons, it can’t sit around for long since it’s not cooked. So I only made a small amount to take photos of, and left the rest of the fish in the fridge, thinking I would prepare it later when we were ready to eat dinner. It worked out well that I only made a small amount because I didn’t like it at all! The lime juice was quite strong in the marinated fish, and the coconut dressing was too sweet. I quite like ceviche, but there was something about this one that just didn’t appeal to me.

So that I didn’t waste the fish, I ended up poaching the rest in the coconut dressing instead. With the addition of a bit more salt it wasn’t too bad, but not something I’d want to make again (and of course, once it was cooked, it wasn’t ceviche anymore).

I can’t say this one is a winner, but if you’re interested, the recipe is below!

And see previous Cookbook Challenge posts here.

Ceviche with coconut dressing

Adapted from Marie Claire Food & Drink

Makes 20 small serves

250g firm white-fleshed fish, skin removed and boned
1 lime, juiced
50ml coconut cream
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Large pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh coriander
1 spring onion, finely sliced on the diagonal

Cut the fish into bite sized pieces and place into a bowl. Add the lime juice to the fish and stir. Cover and refrigerate for two hours.

In a separate bowl, combine the coconut cream, ginger, turmeric, sugar, coriander and salt. Drain the fish and add it to the coconut dressing.

Sprinkle with the spring onion and serve.