Hake ceviche

How to make a hake ceviche. 

A fish with its own very well defined characteristics, perfect for preparing this hake ceviche.

Chile has a privileged location in South America, a past full of history and gastronomic fusion. The first references of Chilean gastronomy are the rotten pot or the Creole stew, very similar to the Canarian stew .

Although the ceviches , like the one that I present today is a guaranteed success. To speak of Chile is to speak of its pine empanadas, beans with reins, its famous humitas, charquicán, stuffed potatoes , its delicious charcareno, cocadas , chupe, salsa pebre, Chilean casserole or pastel de corn…

The ceviche that I present today has a cut similar to that of tiradito but a little thicker.

The ceviche was accompanied by a coriander and basil granita that gave it freshness, some watermelon pearls, a little finely cut purple onion and a herb dressing.

A very light and aromatic dish to which the lime was incorporated just at the time of serving.

The version that I present to you is a little simpler than I learned it in Kitchen Club, perfect for you to prepare at home.

Preparation of hake for ceviche

1. The first step is to clean the fish. We are left with only clean spineless backs.
2. We can use frozen southern hake from Chile, to get rid of the danger of anisakis (to avoid parasitic problems). We can buy it fresh and then freeze the hake for five days and at a temperature of -20º C. After this time we let it thaw at room temperature before working with it.
3. We will use the loins of the fish. We review the hake loins in case they have any small thorn or skin remains.
4. Once clean, cut the hake into sheets, season and reserve 3 minutes before serving.

Preparation of the garnish for the hake ceviche

1. We cut the files in half and have them ready to squeeze. With one of them we rub the bowl where we are going to prepare the ceviche.
2. Add the hake to the bowl or platter, add some ice cubes, so that the fish is as cold as possible for as long as possible.
3. We add fine salt (to taste), freshly ground white pepper and half green pepper (optional) finely chopped without seeds. If you can’t find it, you can use chili or yellow chili. I recommend that you give it that spicy point, it is the grace of our ceviche.
4. We squeeze the limes over the bowl where we have our ingredients.
5. Always with your hand, preventing the seeds from falling and squeezing them only halfway so that they do not become bitter.
6. Always in any preparation with lemon or limes we must squeeze by hand and gently so that the juice does not bitter, no electric or manual juicers.

Final preparation and presentation of the hake ceviche

1. We stir 1 minute until everything is well integrated. When the fish begins to take color, taste and rectify with salt if necessary.
2. Let the fish cook for 2-3 minutes with the citrus, and we will check that its meat is blanching.
3. The citric acid in the limes will modify the proteins of the hake to leave them in their proper state and release their juice, the famous tiger’s milk .
4. We cut the coriander very fine, gently so as not to crush it and add. We remove the ice cubes from the bowl.
5. The last step will be to cut the purple onion into a thin julienne. We divide it in half.
6. We remove the outer layer, place half on the board and make the thin cuts. Once cut, we wash it very well in a strainer to remove the bitterness.
7. So that the onion is not poached but rather crispy, we add it directly to our ceviche at the last moment before serving.
8. Let it rest in the fridge for 10 minutes until the fish is very white.
9. With a “sacbola” we make watermelon balls, about 5 units per plate.
10. We only have to serve our ceviche on the plate that we have reserved very cold in the fridge.
11. We place a little of the southern hake from Chile marinated, red onion on top. Optionally served with fried male plantain in sheets as recommended by Carlos Pascal to give the ceviche crisp.

A very simple recipe, you have no excuses not to prepare a delicious ceviche at home.

I encourage you to visit more  recipes for fish and seafood, they   are perfect for sharing food with friends and the people you love.