The Spice is Right: Salmon Ceviche
Finally!
For the past three months we’ve had a hankering in the worst way to participate in Barbara’s The Spice is Right over at Tigers and Strawberries, and for the past three months, our cooking schedule (such as it is) has failed us. But not this time! Not when chiles are on the menu and Chopper’s in the kitchen.
This month’s theme, It’s Too Darned Hot, brings to mind a myriad of tongue-burning dishes, but our inspiration comes from the cold waters of the North. Copper River, Alaska, to be exact, and that slab of salmon at the local market that was just too darned good of a deal to pass up.
But what to make with salmon and chiles — especially when the goal is to feature the chiles? Something cold for our hot summer weather, perhaps? Something with an extra chile kick to make cooling off all the better?
Ah, that’s it. Skip the oven altogether and make ceviche.
We had fun with this one, from adding grapefruit to the traditional citrus marinade, to finding just the right serving glass from our ramshackle glass collection, to a bit of kitchen hypothesizing on the origins of ceviche. (Our wild guess: Peruvian fishermen, carrying citrus on their boats to ward off scurvy said, hey, if you squeeze this lemon all over this raw fish and wait a bit, not only will it taste good, but you won’t get sick! Of course, years later, someone figured out the science of that whole acid-cooking thing and now everyone embraces ceviche. Or at least everyone who doesn’t still panic at the sight of seafood that hasn’t touched an oven or a frying pan. Silly people.)
I note in passing that I said “skip the oven” above, and in the recipe below, Chopper refers to rosting chiles under an open flame or a broiler, and we did indeed use the broiler. What I meant to say was “You should skip the oven because your broiler will have a complete meltdown during the chile-roasting process,” but that would be guidelines that only apply to our kitchen. Silly broiler.
Salmon Ceviche
Seves 8
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds fresh Copper River sockeye salmon
- 9 poblanos
- 6 red jalapeños
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced small
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced small
- 1 bunch cilantro, minced
- 1 large pink grapefruit, juiced
- 1 navel orange, juiced
- 2 large lemons, juiced
Method
- Roast one of the poblanos and all of the jalapeños over an open flame or under a broiler until skin is blackened. Then place in a small bowl and cover with plastic. Allow to sit for five minutes, then peel, remove the seeds, and dice.
- Cut salmon fillets into 1/2 inch cubes. Place in a non-reactive bowl or pan.
- Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive container and marinate for at least 2 hours.
- Remove tops and seed pods from remaining poblanos and carefully place them in martini glasses.
- When ceviche is done marinating, place portions in each poblano and serve.
And, if you’ve bought big hunk of salmon with skin on like we did, you can dress up your dish with a few fried salmon skin crackers.
Ah, salmon and a chile kick. I think I can survive the summer heat with more meals like this!
Skipping the oven is mandatory at our house these days. We are also skipping the burners and the broiler, as we’ve just ripped out our entire kitchen. There will be a new, improved kitchen in its place in a few months, but this summer will be all about the grill, and the occasional borrowed stove.
Does this stop me from buying way too much food at the farmers market? Of course not. Having just arrived home with some gorgeous local halibut and salmon (caught just out of La Push), I was thrilled to see this post. I think that one or the other will get a citrus soak, rather than a quick grilling. Thanks much for the inspiration!
And thanks for another wonderfully creative presentation; this one made me laugh out loud. (And my reaction to the piggy scotch egg had my husband coming in to ask if I was OK. Hot coffee through the nose is unpleasant… but thanks anyway.)
I love raw fish and your recipe sounds really delicious! Such kinds of dishes are really fresh and very healthy…
Nice post, thanks!
Mm! Salmon-skin pork rinds!
Your dish looks delish (verrry spicy). And your pics are stunning. (Perfect glass… You schlepped that from Portland?)
Kimberly – go for it! It sounds like you’ve got some fine fish, too, so you know it’s ceviche worthy. BTW, glad to see the kitchen rennovation documentation! Fun!
Thanks, Rosa! Funny, I was thinking exactly that while eating this dish. Probably the healthiest dinner we’ve had all week.
Hah, CC. Nope. We scored the glass at the local thrift shop. The glassware at the house here is so unphotogenic we had to do something about it. Fortunately, there’s a crazy consignment/thrift store/charity shop out in the middle of nowhere that has great kitchen stuff dirt cheap. No Kitchenaid mixers yet, though.
My boyfriend and I have been thinking about trying to make ceviche, and this recipe looks like the place to start.
Salmon? A good deal on salmon? Damn you two. Damn you two (in the best way possible of course). This looks gorgeous – I love the presentation, especially the crispy salmon skin. Alas, salmon is a wishful commodity for us these days.
[...] Oh, my. I am nearly struck speechless by Mrs D and Chopper Dave’s contribution to this event. The couple behind the Washington State blog, Belly Timber, have made a dish that has me salivating before the sun is even up, and the wicked thing about it is that I am not currently eating salmon, which is one of my favorite foods, because of the methylmercury issue. (Being pregnant sometimes sucks, you know?) But, enough about me–let’s talk about Salmon Ceviche, which is what you see peeking out of that pretty poblano pepper up there. Ceviche is a great Central to South-American dish that involves chemically “cooking” fish with the citric acid in citrus juice. Usually it is lime or lemon juice, but these folks kicked it up two notches and used both grapefruit and navel orange in addition to the lemon. And they used those lovely poblanos, as well as red jalapenos and it just all sounds glorious. Fabulous. Fantastic. I am still drooling, darnnit. Mrs D. and Chopper Dave–thank you for an outstanding entry, and I really hope to see you come back next month with something equally salivatory. [...]
Sounds great, I was thinking about adding avacado and cucumber….
Hey John, we actually planned on avacado but didn’t have one ripe at the house at the time!
Two important notes from Chopper for anyone thinking of making salmon ceviche:
1) Don’t leave the salmon in the citrus marinade for much longer than 4 hours total, or the salmon could start to get flaky and mealy, and
2) our salmon was very flavorful and didn’t need extra seasoning, but you may want to have some on hand, just in case. A dash of furikake would probably work quite well.
[...] Chopper from Belly-Timber made a salmon ceviche with poblanos, jalapeños, red grapefruit juice, and some very talented food styling and photography in the end. The results look phenomenal. Go check it out. After reading that post, it may be time for me to finally try making my first ceviche. [...]
[...] preparo ?evap?i?i, ceviche di salmone e un’insalata di [...]