Ingredients
- FOR THE CEVICHE
- 1 pound mahimahi fillets, trimmed and cut into G-inch slices, then into G-inch strips
- 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice, strained
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
- FOR THE SAUCE
- 1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup very lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 15 fresh mint leaves
- 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
- 1 small garlic clove, sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup water
- TO SERVE
- 20 green Manzanilla (Spanish) olives, pitted and halved (or quartered if large)
- 1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded, and cut into G-inch dice
- 1/2 small white onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Juice of 1 lime, or as needed,
- 1 jalapeño, finely chopped
- Salt if necessary
- Thin slices of ripe Hass avocado
- 6 black olives (optional)
- Tortilla chips
Preparation
Step 1
Put the raw fish into a tall narrow glass or stainless-steel container. Stir the lime juice, salt, and oregano together in a small bowl and pour over the fish. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
While the ceviche is curing, make the sauce: Put the basil, parsley, mint, jalapeño, garlic, sugar, and water in a blender. Blend until smooth.
Drain the ceviche thoroughly and put it in a medium mixing bowl; add any cooked seafood (see below), if using. Discard the marinade. Pour the basil sauce over the ceviche. Stir in the olives, roasted pepper, onion, olive oil, lime juice, and chopped jalapeño. Taste and add salt and/or additional lime juice if necessary. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, no longer than 1 hour.
Divide the ceviche among six cocktail glasses or small deep serving bowls. Top each serving with 2 or 3 avocado slices and a black olive if you like. Serve with the tortilla chips.
NOTE: Shrimp, calamari (squid), octopus, mussels, and clams are all fine for ceviche. Shrimp should be very lightly poached — just until pink — and cut into spoon-size pieces before marinating. Calamari, too, should be very lightly poached until just opaque, then cut into rings or small squares. For the adventurous, octopus can be simmered until tender in salted water seasoned with garlic, oregano, and onion. Mussels and clams should be just cooked and removed from their shells before adding them to the marinade.
Any seafood that is cooked before adding to a ceviche should not be marinated along with raw fish. Instead, add it to the raw seafood after the latter has been drained and sauced. The sauce for ceviches that contain cooked seafood may need an extra shot of lime.