Rosalia's Mexican Ceviche

In my last Face Reading Certification course in San Diego,one of the students - Rosalia volunteered to make and bring something in for lunch. She made Ceviche, which was hands down the favorite dish of the day. This is a recipe that comes from her childhood in Mexico, where her father would go fishing and they would make Ceviche on the beach afterwards. It is fresh and light and absolutely delicious.  So, I came home and tried to recreate it using a lot less fish. I found some organic Tilapia at Whole Foods and followed my handwritten instructions and it turned out wonderfully. The secret is to marinate the fish first so that it "cooks" and then drain the juice and then use more lime juice to marinate the vegetables with the fish again after. This prevents it from tasting fishy and gives it a cleaner, purer flavor. It is also important to use a White Onion as this is the traditional Mexican onion. I made it again in Denmark with fresh Cod and it was so good that I couldn't stop eating it.... All I can say is that I am not ordering this dish at restaurants anymore since it is so easy to make at home and so much better too!

Rosalia's Mexican Ceviche 

1 pound organic Tilapia fillets, diced or cod (or any fresh white fish)

Juice of 4 large limes (about ½ cup)

2 small (or 1 large) chopped Roma tomatoes

1/2 Hothouse Cucumber, cut in half, seeded and diced

½ White Onion, finely chopped

1 small Serrano Chile, deseeded and minced (can also use Jalapeno)

1 carrot, peeled and cut into small pieces/1 yellow pepper, deseeded cut into small pieces

Small handful of chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the tilapia in a bowl and pour ¼ cup of the lime juice over the fish and mix to coat. Cover the fish with Saran wrap and put into the refrigerator until the fish becomes opaque - about 15 minutes.

Then drain off the lime juice and discard. Add the tomato, cucumber, onion, Serrano chili and cilantro and then add in the remaining lime juice. Then, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with Tortilla Chips, bottled hot sauce and 1 additional lime, cut into narrow wedges. 

Five Element Analysis

Fish belongs to the Water Element so that element is covered.The lime juice contributes the Wood Element and the Serrano Chili and black pepper make sure that the Fire Element is represented and the hot sauce, if you use it, adds even more. The Cucumber, Carrot and Tortilla Chips add in the Earth Element and the White Onion and Cilantro bring in the Metal Element. This dish is therefore balanced as you can also tell by how colorful it is!