Ingredients:

Ceviche

serves 2 entree size      prep time 15-30 mins

Fresh Snapper                   200g fillet skin & boned
Red onion                           1/2 small fine diced
lime                                     2 large ripe
Lemon                                2 large
Tomatillo hot sauce      2tbspn or liberal amounts of
Mango                                1 small peeled & cubed
Avocado                             1 large peeled & cubed
Jalapeno                            1 Large
baby coriander                 garnish
Salt                                     to taste

Habanero gazpacho sorbet

Makes about 1L depending on method, will keep well frozen in a sealed container

Cherry Tomato                         1kg blistered
Red Capsicum                          2 large red
Cucumber                                 1/2 large pickled
Habanero Roja hot sauce      liberal amounts of
Basil                                           fresh 1tbspn
Oregano                                    fresh 1tbspn
Caster Sugar                            2 cups
Salt                                             pinch
Water                                        2 cups

Method

So first we are going to make the sorbet. This will need to be done a day in advance, this recipe makes quite a bit and  will keep well frozen in a sealed container. Sorbet is great for a summer day, i also use it for a  bloody Mary slushi.

1. Combine water and sugar together in a small pot, bring to the boil and simmer until sugar has dissolved and set aside to cool

2.While the sugar syrup is working we are going to roast the capsicum and tomato.
–  Heat large pan on high until smoking with a little of your favourite oil, we used avocado oil
–  In small batches blister the tomatoes in hot pan and set aside
–  If you are lucky and have gas, turn 2 hobs on high and place the 2 capsicums directly on the heat turning with tongs until fully blackened. If you don’t have gas hobs you could to this with a blowtorch or turn your oven to highest heat, coat the capsicum in some oil and roast until blackened.
-Place the charred capsicum into a mixing bowl and cover with cling wrap. This will make them easier to peel.
–  When the capsicum are ready to peel run them under some cold water to peel off the skin. Cut the capsicum in half and remove stem, seeds and pith. Set aside with the tomatoes.

3. If you have time to pickle some cucumber this adds some great depth of flavour to the sorbet however it is not essential. You can simply peel, deseed, and rough chop the cucumber and set aside with the tomatoes & capsicum

4. Blend tomatoes, capsicum, cucumber, herbs and Habanero Roja until you have a pulp like consistency. Add some of the sugar syrup to the blender to get a thinner pulp.
–  Remove pulp from blender and place into large mixing bowl with the rest of sugar syrup and combine.
–  Strain the pulp through your chinoux or strainer. At this stage its down to personal preference on how smooth you would like the sorbet. I like to use single mesh strainer so some of the pulp still pushes through. You can get a smoother result by using double mesh or passing through muslin cloth instead.

5. Either way your sorbet is now ready to go into the freezer or ice cream maker. I prefer with this type of sorbet to just put it straight into the freezer and whisk as much as possible. Even if you forget all about it and don’t whisk at all while its freezing it will still turn out fine………………….

For this ceviche I used Snapper but there are many great fish you could use for this dish, Tuna, Kingfish, Bluenose, Hapuka, & Trevally are some good examples. Freshness is vital for good ceviche, so your best bet is go to your local fish market and pick something fresh. If your not comfortable filleting the fish yourself you can just use pre cut fillets. Even better get on a boat and go fishing. Ceviche is endemically associated with the coastal regions of Peru although no self respecting South or Central American country doesn’t have its own version and there are some very interesting Caribbean and Pacific Island versions. In my opinion there is no right or wrong way to do ceviche as there must be thousands of different versions and methods which is what makes it such a fun dish to play with. I wouldn’t say this a traditional or authentic type of ceviche to any particular region rather just my take on a great dish…………………

1.Fist we need to peel the avocado & mango and cut into 1/2 inch cubes then place into bowl and cover with squeezed lemon juice. Ideally leave to cure for 6 hours as this will cure and flavour them although you can do this just before your ready to serve.

2. Thinly slice jalapeno and set aside.

3. Just before you are ready to serve, thinly slice the snapper and cover with equal parts lime juice and Tomatillo & Jalapeno hot sauce, red onion and salt to taste.
–  I like to cut the fish wafer thin and cure for 2-4 minutes. You can cut a lot bigger or use the fillets whole if you like, you will just need to adjust the curing time to suit your taste.

4. Plating up…..Lay down some baby cos leaves on your plate. Lightly drain your sliced fish and arrange on top of cos leaves. Arrange mango, avocado & jalapeno around your fish. drizzle with some of the leftover lime mixture and then scoop on the sorbet. Garnish with coriander, lime wedges & extra hot sauce if required…..Easy

The key to this dish like many others is balance and contrast. There is a reasonable amount of heat in this dish and you can adjust it to suit your own taste. The delicate flavours of the fish should still shine with the contrast of the heat and coolness of the sorbet balancing out with the creamy cured avocado. The tartness of the tomatillo and addition of mango & coriander add more levels of flavour……………..season

ENJOY