Fresh ceviche is a staple here at Tierra Magnifica. Many of our guests share with us their fond memories of relaxing poolside under the warm Costa Rican sun, feeling the refreshing breeze, and savoring every bite of our fresh ceviche.
We get asked all the time what the secret is to making our ceviche so delicious. So we thought… why not share it with our guest so you can enjoy the tastes of Tierra Magnifica in the comfort of your own home!
INGREDIENTS FOR CEVICHE MAGNIFICA:
2 lbs of white fish fillets cut into small square pieces
(You can use: corvina, halibut, sea bass, tilapia, mahi mahi, or snapper)
2 or 3 hot peppers sliced
(You can use: Costa Rican style aji peppers, red chilies, or serranos)
2 to 4 garlic cloves whole but gently crushed (optional)
2 to 3 small red onions peeled and finely sliced
(You can use: Costa Rican style small red onion or replace with 4 to 5 large shallots)
2 red bell peppers sliced
20 small to medium sized limes
1 bunch of cilantro chopped as finely as possible
2 to 3 tablespoons of oil
(You can use: olive. oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil, etc)
Ginger ale
Salt to taste
HOW TO MAKE CEVICHE MAGNIFICA:
Place the diced raw fish in a large bowl or dish with the sliced hot peppers, garlic cloves, a tablespoon of chopped cilantro, 1-2 teaspoons of salt, and cover it with lime juice from about 10 limes, the fish should be completely covered or almost completely covered by the lime juice.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about 3-4 hours.
Place the sliced onions or shallots in a bowl, sprinkle them with a few teaspoons of salt and add warm water (enough to cover the onions), let rest for about 10 minutes, drain and rinse well with cold water.
Combine the rinsed onions with the diced bell peppers. Add the juice from about 5 limes and some salt. Let this mix marinate for at least 10 minutes, it can also be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to mix with the fish.
Once the fish is “cooked” in the lime juice, it should be completely white, remove the sliced hot peppers and garlic cloves.
Based on your preference, and the acidity level, you can keep all the lime juice where the fish cooked in, or just some of it. You can strain the liquid to remove any pieces of hot peppers (or seeds) or garlic.
Add the marinated onion/shallot, and bell pepper mix to the fish. Add the chopped cilantro, oil, salt and additional lime juice to taste. Then add a splash of Ginger Ale (just a splash to give it a little zing).
Let it rest for another 20-30 minutes before serving.
Serve with homemade corn tortilla chips (recipe & directions below), patacones, or plantain chips.
Add hot sauce to taste.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CORN TORTILLA CHIPS:
Cut corn tortillas into 6 pie slices, drop them into a pot with vegetable oil at medium high heat. Flip them with tongs after 30 seconds, then pull them out after a minute or less.
Drop them into a bowl with paper towel. When all the pieces are done, salt to taste.
We’d love to see a photo of your creation!
Tag us on social media @tierramagnfiica or email it to us at steve@tierramagnifica.com.
