LatinLover

Seafood in Fresh Salsa

RecipePatricio OssesComment

Makes 6 servings

1 tomato, seeded and finely chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped
3 lemons, juiced
1 fresh jalapeño, seeded, deveined and finely chopped
Coarse salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Adobo Goya, to taste
¼ cup olive oil

1 large octopus
4 fillets of salmon trout
1 large piece of toro, or fatty tuna

Combine all the ingredients through the olive oil, and add condiments to taste. Set aside.

To cook the octopus, defrost completely. In large pot, bring plenty of water, enough to cook the entire octopus, to a boil. Immerse the octopus by the head in the boiling water and immediately remove. Repeat 3 or 5 times, making sure you do it an odd number of times: 3, 5 or 7. Then add the entire octopus to the pot, and let it cook for 40 minutes on low heat. The octopus should be soft, not rubbery. Once it feels like a cooked potato, turn off heat and let it rest in water for 20 minutes. Remove from water and pat dry. 

Cut off the legs of the octopus and grill on hot coals, along with the salmon trout and fatty tuna. Make sure you do not overcook, as fish tends to cook very quickly. 

Place cooked seafood in a platter, along with the prepared salsa. Serve with white rice and salad.

Photos by Pako Dominguez.

View article: At Home with NYC's Top Fish Buyer.

Corvina Ceviche by Eric Ramirez

RecipeEric RamirezComment

Makes 1 portion.

2 teaspoons garlic
1 tablespoon white onion
1 tablespoon celery
Pinch of ginger
6.5 ounces lime Juice
4 cilantro stems
Pinch of habanero or thai chile
1 ounce white fish
2.5 ounces ice
6.5 ounces fumet
Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients lightly in the blender. Once everything comes together strain through a fine strainer. Reserve juices and refrigerate. This is the leche de tigre for the ceviche. 

4 ounces golden corvina or wild striped bass
2 ounces leche de tigre (see above)
1/2 ounce red onion
Pinch chopped cilantro
1/2 ounce sweet potato, medium dice
Pinch finely chopped habanero chile

Cut corvina into ½ inch cubes and refrigerate. You can use the scraps for leche de tigre, above. Prepare leche de tigre (see above) and refrigerate until ready to use. Thinly shave red onion and submerge in ice cold water for 30 seconds. This will make the red onion nice and crisp and will take some of the bite off. Drain red onion and place in a bowl with paper towel. Take a small to medium sized sweet potato and bake on a bed of salt at 350F until tender. Let the sweet potato cool and then cut into medium sized cubes. Take 1 habanero and split and half. Take seeds and veins out. (Make sure to use gloves when handling.) Cut habanero into thin strips. Then turn habanero clockwise ¼ of the way and cut into a very small dice. Take 1 gram of cleaned cilantro leaves and chop with a very sharp knife to avoid bruising. All ingredients, when done, should be placed in small containers in an orderly fashion and refrigerated.

The ceviche that you’re about to prepare must be very cold. Take 4 ounces of the cubed corvina and place into a stainless steel bowl that is set on ice. Lightly season the corvina with salt and a squeeze of fresh lime. Add habanero, cilantro and shaved red onions. Mix once or twice. Then add leche de tigre and mix again. Adjust seasoning with salt. Take a bowl that has been refrigerated and serve the corvina along with the juices. Garnish with cubed sweet potatoes. 

View article: Who Will Be Ceviche King of NYC?

Salmon Anticuchos by Miguel Aguilar

RecipeMiguel Aguilar1 Comment

Makes 4 portions.

1 pound fresh salmon fillet
1 tabelspoon capers
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
4 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoon huacatay paste
5 large limes, juiced
1 teaspoon yellow aji paste
2 teaspoon soy sauce
White Peruvian corn, shelled
Salt and pepper to taste
8 Bamboo skewers
2 teaspoons olive oil 

Cut salmon into 1-inch cubes and thread 4 pieces of salmon onto each skewer. There should be enough for 8 kebabs, or 4 portions. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl combine lime juice, mayonnaise, soy sauce, capers, yellow aji paste, huacatay paste and chopped cilantro. Mix until ingredients are well incorporated into a silky sauce.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat and cook skewers for 30 seconds on each side. Remove from heat and place on a large platter.

Pour sauce over the kebabs and serve with shelled corn sprinkled on top.

View article: Who Will Be Ceviche King of NYC?

Red Snapper Ceviche by Alex Ureña

RecipeAlex UreñaComment

Makes 6 portions.

4 cups carrot juice 
3 cups orange juice 
2 ounces sliced ginger, peeled
2 habanero peppers
1 stalk lemongrass, chopped 

Combine everything in a pot, and allow to boil for 5 to 8 minutes. Puree in a blender, strain and allow to cool. 

1.5 pounds red snapper filet, without skin, thinly sliced 
1.5 cups lime juice 
¼ cup olive oil 
1 cup red onion, thinly sliced 
1 cup scallion, thinly sliced 
1 cup carrot, julienned and blanched
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped 
2 grapefruits, segmented 

Mix together the oil and lime juice. Add the snapper. Add the vegetables, fruit and carrot sauce. Plate the mixture in deep bowl or martini glass.

View article: Who Will Be Ceviche King of NYC? 

Atun Ceviche by Julian Medina

RecipeJulian MedinaComment

Makes 3 portions.

1 cup orange juice
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sambal olek or Thai chile-garlic sauce
¼ cup yuzu juice
¼ cup lime juice

1 pound sushi quality Yellowfin tuna, diced
3 tablespoons Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
5 teaspoons radish, julienned
5 tablespoons watermelon, ¼ diced
2 tablespoons chives, chopped
Kosher salt to taste

In a medium bowl combine the orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, chile sauce, yes juice and lime juice, and whisk vigorously until a well incorporated sauce forms.

In another bowl combine together the tuna, onion, radish and watermelon; hand toss until the ingredients are mixed together well.

Pour the sauce over the ceviche. Be careful not to drown the salad. To better incorporate the vinaigrette, mix the ceviche by hand.

Place ¼ of the salad per plate; sprinkle the chives on top for garnish.

View article: Who Will Be Ceviche King of NYC?

The New Fulton Street Fishmongers

ArticleGuest UserComment

That’s the first thing you notice at the market, all the guys have hooks. As in Captain Hook: big and sharp, with wooden butts. They use them like extensions of their arms, like second nature. “I’ve never once used it as a weapon,” says Ed Cruci, one of the first fish sellers we stop to talk with. 

Hoppin' John by Danielle and Pablo

RecipeDanielle BellComment

Invented by American slaves and beloved by Southerners of all stripes, it is a mix of black-eyed peas, rice, and greens, seasoned with ham hocks. Traditionally it is eaten on New Years Day with the hope that it will bring good luck, as the black-eye peas themselves are sign of prosperity. 

Makes six hearty servings

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 medium sized carrot diced
1 medium sized onion diced
1 bay leaf
4 minced garlic cloves
1 ham hock
1 1/2 cups of black-eyed peas that have been soaked
3 cups of water
1 cup of cooked black rice
2 cups of chopped kale
Kosher salt to taste
Cayenne to taste
Black pepper to taste
Garnish with chopped scallions

A note on ham hock: In The Gift of Southern Cooking, Scott Peacock and Edna Lewis caution against supermarket smoked ham hocks, because of their synthetic chemical taste. With this in mind, be careful in regards to where you get your meat. If possible procure yours from a trusted butcher. A slab of bacon, country ham, or cured European ham such as jamón serrano would work fine, as would a pig’s foot.

In a heavy soup pan or dutch oven, saute the onions and carrot with olive oil and bay leaf. After two minutes add the garlic and continue sautéing for an additional two minutes. Next add the water and ham hock. Cover and simmer for at least an hour, allowing the ham hock to impart its flavor into the water. Taste the water before adding the beans; you want it to taste of pork. Add the black-eyed peas and simmer for forty minutes. When beans are tender, cut off the heat and add kale. Cover. After five minutes your kale will have cooked. Season with salt, cayenne, and black pepper to taste. Either serve over a bed of rice or add the rice to the pot. Garnish with chopped scallions.

View article: African Culinary Ingenuity from Lima to Memphis.

Eat the Book: Maricel Presilla

InterviewJames WillimetzComment

I know how to cook, but I had to teach myself the foods of Latin America, because being Cuban doesn’t prepare you to cook Peruvian or Mexican. I always say this book could only have been done in this country. If I had been in Peru, I wouldn’t have been able to get the chiles from Mexico. If I had been in Mexico I wouldn’t have been able to get Andean hot peppers.