On The Plate: Hola, holidays | Food & Wine | Surf Coast Times ...

I knew my holiday was looking promising right from the outset, when the flight out of Sydney provided me with an airline magazine which featured all things gastronomical in South America, the continent to which I was now winging my way.

While I knew I would not be able to actually visit the many restaurants featured, it still made interesting reading to learn that the ?celeb chefs? were like any other around the globe, interested in looking back at their homeland?s cuisine, and re-working traditional dishes to create innovative twists on traditional favourites.

This theory was born out in one notable eatery in Lima, Peru, where the chef?s menu tugged at your heartstrings to the extent that each dish gave a brief outline of what it was that sparked the idea for his version of the appetiser, main course or dessert he offered for the diner to sample.

He reflected on the pizazz of flavours from a common street food vendor, or from his grandma?s special dish, or the influence of recent migrants to his country. It made for very interesting reading and the actual food was truly scrumptious. The next day at a bustling, but more ?common eatery? ? a buffet for $12 ? in a nearby suburb, I was happily able to sample a ?peasant? version of this same appetiser so exquisitely presented the night before, on its smart rectangular plate.

Ah, South America! Corn (maize), potatoes, seafood and meat ? if it?s Argentina you?re visiting ? are the loud notes in their cuisine. In Lima, cevicherias abound. Little eateries which specialise in serving the fresh seafood salad which may feature salmon, tuna, red snapper ? or pompano, as it is known locally.

I?m talking about ceviche, and I did try many versions of it. Ceviche (also known as cebiche or seviche) is of Peruvian origin ? although it also appears in Tahitian and European cuisines. It harks especially from the north coast of Peru, and its roots may lie in the local indigenous group of Quechua Indians who would have called it siwichi. However it can be linked to Arabic sibeshi, which roughly translated means acidic, aromatic food. The Spanish-Moors may have introduced the concept.

Ceviche combines raw firm fleshed white fish with some onion, tomatoes, green pepper, a little garlic, chilli and coconut milk combined with some lime juice to ?cook? the fish. The acid in the citrus juices works on the enzymes in the fish ? and the resultant juices in the bottom of the serving dish ? the leche de tigre (tiger?s milk) is said to be an aphrodisiac!

Ceviche makes a perfect appetiser; its fresh, tender velvety-ness prepares your palate perfectly for the next course. No doubt about these Latino-Americans and the art of setting the scene for total sensory pleasure.

Ceviche

Ingredients
1 kg firm, very fresh fish ? sole, snapper, tuna or salmon
3 medium onions ? finely chopped
Juice 8-10 limes (lemons or oranges can be used)
2-3 finely chopped aji limo (chilli)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons coriander ? finely chopped
1 tablespoon mint ? finely chopped
(Small leaves lettuce ? optional)
3 small chats or 1 sweet potato ? boiled until tender and cut into 2cm cubes ? optional
8 discs of corn of the cob boiled with aniseed seeds until tender
1 by 250ml tin coconut milk

Method
Cut fish into strips or cubes that are bite sized. Combine fish, onions, herbs, chilli and marinade with the lime (or citrus juices) and coconut milk for approximately 15 minutes. Assemble salad in small glass serving dishes, or one large dish with lettuce leaves, corn discs and potatoes (if using them). Make sure you provide spoons for the leche de tigre!

Source: http://www.surfcoasttimes.com.au/entertainment/foodwine/2012/10/05/on-the-plate-hola-holidays/

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