Ceviche Peruano - Recipe by Chef Xerxes Bodhanwala

Ingredients

400g white fish (snapper pink or gold)
5 pieces caramelised sweet potato
2 Tbs per serve corn kernels
5-6 slices per serve caramelised sweet potato
250g leche de tigre
7-8 slices per serving sliced shallots
3-4 leaves per serve coriander leaves or micro coriander

Caramelised sweet potato:

2.5L water
5 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
5 star anise
250g sugar
1L orange juice
2kg sweet potato

Leche de tigre (tiger's milk):

150mL lemon juice
150mL lime juice
150mL fish stock or water
30g coriander stems and roots
30g fish offcuts
50g scallops
20g shallots
20g red chillies
50g aji amarillo (Peruvian yellow chilli)
5g salt
1 clove garlic
30g celery

Fish:

500- 600g skinned white fish (snapper pink or gold)

Corn kernels:

3 corn cobs
50mL olive oil
Salt

Method

Caramelised Sweet Potato:

Slice the sweet potato in 3 mm thickness, using a mandolin or vegetable slicer.

In a large pot, add water, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, orange juice and sugar.

Stir to mix well, bring to the boil.

Add in the sliced sweet potato and place the pot on medium heat.

Cook for 2-3 minutes or until al-dente keeping in mind that the residual heat in the liquid will finish cooking the potatoes.

Leche de tigre (Tiger’s milk):

Place coriander, fish offcuts, scallops, shallots, aji amarillo, celery, garlic and red chilli in a Thermomix/or blender and blitz until a very smooth paste, making sure no large pieces are remaining.

In a jug, mix the lemon juice, lime juice and fish stock/water.

Fill the Thermomix halfway up with juice mix and all the fish paste. Add in the salt. Blend for 2 minutes at speed 9.

Add this mixture back to the jug with the remaining juice mixture and whisk well to combine.

Store in storage containers and keep chilled until ready to use.

Fish:

Cut the fillets of fish into 2 cm – 2.5 cm cubes.

Keep in mind to remove any bloodline of the belly portion from the fillet. Do not discard these offcuts can be used to make the Tigers milk.

Once the fish is cut into cubes, place in a bowl and season with salt; place into the refrigerator to cool and firm up the flesh.

Corn kernels:

If the cobs still have the husk on, peel the husk off the cobs.

Place the cobs in a tray and pour over the olive oil and sprinkle the cobs generously with salt.

Make sure to cover the whole cob with olive oil and salt.

On a hot grill or on top of the gas burner on a low heat, place the corn cobs and begin to roast them.

Turn them every 2 minutes until the majority of the kernels are lightly charred.

Place the hot cobs back into the tray and cover with a lid or aluminum foil. The residual heat will continue to cook and steam the kernels.

Leave in the tray for 15 minutes.

Once the cobs are cool enough to handle, place them on a shopping board vertically and cut along the side of the core to separate the kernels from the cob.

Place the kernels in a container and chill them in the refrigerator.

Assembling the dish:

Remove all the ingredients and place them in front of you.

Take the bowl with the fish and pour in the Tiger milk; mix well for a minute to combine well.

Add in the sliced shallots into the bowl, and mix well to combine.

Place the bowl of marinated fish back into the fridge.

In your serving bowls/plates, arrange the sweet potato slices on one side and the charred corn kernels on another side.

Remove the marinated fish from the fridge and place it in between the sweet potato and corn.

Garnish the top of the fish with the coriander leaves.

Serve and enjoy.

Recipe provided by Uma Restaurant