Ceviche del Mercado recipe

Australia Day 2010 was hot and humid in Sydney. If the party had been held on any day on either side of the event, I’m sure we would have all been more comfortable. Everyone was a good sport, despite the weather. This dish, prepared for the party, by Susan Wolfe was just perfect for the day. Of course it helps, that fish, and ceviche, is a long time favourite of mine. True Mexican food is less well known in Australia, and I’ll admit that, this was the first time I’d tried tomatillos. The dish was a delight!

Ceviche del Mercado (Lime Cured Halibut with Avocado and Tomatillo Salsa)

From Dona Tomas – Discovering Authentic Mexican Cooking
by Thomas Schnetz and Dona Savitsky with Mike Wille

Tomatillo Salsa
2 cups tomatillos (about 3/4 pound)
1/2 cup water
1/4 bunch cilantro (coriander) stemmed
1 clove garlic
1/2 jalapeno chile
about 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Ceviche
3/4 pound fresh halibut (or other seasonal fish, in this case kingfish)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 3 limes)
Kosher salt
2 avocados, cut into 3/4 inch dice
2 tomatoes, cut into 3/4 inch dice
2 jalapeno chiles, minced without seeds
1/2 red onion, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro, stemmed and chopped
Tortilla chips

To prepare the salsa, soak the tomatillos in cold water and then peel off the husks. (In Australia, only canned tomatoillos are available so these were used. The canned tomatillos need to be drained). Place in a blender. Add the water, cilantro, garlice, jalapeno, and salt and puree on high speed until smooth. Adjust the seasoning with salt if necessary, and refrigerate until chilled. The salsa can be held for up to 2 days.

To prepare the fish, remove and discard any skin spots or bones with a sharp boning knife. Cut the fillets into 1 by 1/2 inch strips, then slice 1/8 inch thin slices on the bias from each strip.

For the final preparation, in a large bowl, toss the fish with the lime juice and a few pinches of salt. Add the avocadoes, tomatoes, jalapeno, onion, cilantro, and about half of the salsa and gently toss 2 to 3 times. Adjust the consistency and seasoning with more salsa and salt if necessary and quickly toss a few more times so that everything is fully mixed. Spread the seafood mixture on a wide platter, line the edges with the fresh tortilla chips, and serve at once.

Serendipity and synchronicity brought Susan Wolfe to the party. I’d worked with Susan’s partner Jeremy Bluhm quite some time ago. In fact, some years back we were also nearly neighbours. It had been at least a decade since I’d seen him though. Only recently, I was sitting on the bus and saw him walking down George Street in the CBD. Within 10 minutes, while I was walking down Pitt Street, I saw Jeremy walking towards me, and we finally caught up.

The written recipe that Susan brought to the Australia Day recipe swap party to accompany her dish, finished with a note to say the cookbook (Dona Tomas – Discovering Authentic Mexican Cooking) comes from one of their favourite Mexican restaurants in Berkeley, California.

And, you can check out the Australia Day party and the links to other recipes from that day in this previous Inside Cuisine post.