Tilapia Ceviche
From: Phyllis Davis, Co-Inventor, Portable Farms(TM) Aquaponics Systems and President, Portable Farms, Inc.
Hello Friends:
It’s another beautiful day in paradise.
I have my eye on a couple of Tilapia from our Portable Farms(TM) Aquaponics System in the backyard. They’re almost ready to ‘harvest’ for a delicious meal of ceviche. A few of these fish in our personal Portable Farms(TM) Aquaponics Systems moved with us from Escondido, California, and these boys are about 7 1/2 months old, 1 1/4 pounds and 11″ long. Tilapia are FAST swimmers and nearly impossible to isolate and catch easily which presents the challenge of selecting one or two particular fish and simply moving a net around them to ‘harvest’ for a meal. So, Colle temporarily pumps some of the water out of the fish tank so I can carefully maneuver my net to catch my special fish.
After we take them out of the water, we bring them in the kitchen, and Colle places them on a cutting board, one at a time, and places a sharp knife behind their eye and turns it half-a-turn and the fish dies without pain or suffering. And, then he cleans them for me and I take the 4 four-ounce fillets (from two fish) from him to make ceviche. I know what you’re thinking, “What a wimp! She won’t kill or clean the fish.” And, my response is, “You’re right. Colle doesn’t mind doing the dastardly deed, and it works for us.”
A few summers ago, I wrote a cookbook centered around Tilapia entitled, “Ten Tantalizing Tilapia Recipes to Titillate Your Taste Buds.” Our friends ate so much tilapia during that summer to test the recipes (good hearted souls they are) that they may never eat it again! They selected their ten favorite recipes at the end of the summer and we included them in the book. So, for your pleasure, I’ve posted the ceviche recipe below:
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Tilapia Ceviche
The citric acid that is in the lime juice used to make ceviche creates a chemical process called denaturation. The acidic lime juice changes the proteins in the Tilapia, unraveling the molecules and altering their chemical and physical properties and turns the flesh firm and opaque, as if it had been cooked with heat. It doesn’t kill bacteria, but it does ‘cook’ the proteins in the fish and change it’s texture.
Ingredients:
4 (4 ounce) Tilapia fillets, cut in very small squared cubes
5 Freshly squeezed limes (roll the limes before squeezing to produce more juice)
4 Cloves finely chopped garlic
5 Ripe medium to large tomatoes
1 Teaspoon oregano
1 Avocado – fairly ripe
½ Cup chopped red onion
½ Cup chopped celery
¼ Cup chopped green pepper
½ Cup chopped cilantro
¼ Teaspoon salt
¼ Teaspoon pepper
(optional) 1 Cup chopped avocado
(optional) dash of Cholula Hot Sauce or Tabasco Sauce for spice
(optional) chopped green or black olives
Directions:
Soak the cubed Tilapia squares in ¾ of the lime juice for 3 hours in the refrigerator. Drain off the liquid and discard the rest of the juice. Mix the fish with the garlic, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, oregano, green pepper, and the remaining lime juice. Slice and place sliced avocado over the top of dish before serving. Serve with warm tortillas (flour or corn) or tortilla chips.
ENJOY!
Your friend,
Phyllis Davis