h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The first time I tasted a ceviche was at my Flamenco teacher's home. Her mother is from Peru. The ceviche was delicious. I asked her mother for the recipe but she refused, claiming that it was a family secret.

White fish, obviously
Salt (I prefer herbal salt myself)
Chili, finely chopped or - if you're lazy like me - chili flakes
Freshly squeezed lime juice to marinate the chili and - here's the trick I think I missed out on but found online - also a clove or two of finely chopped garlic.

Maybe sprinkle a bit of virgin olive oil on top.

There's a Cevecheria in the southern suburbs of Stockholm - a bit tricky for me getting there during their opening hours.

If you ever happen to be in the vicinty of Hökarängen, in Farsta, in Sweden, feel free to post your opinion about it:

http://www.cevicheriaajiyajo.se/startsida.html

Oh, and another point I picked up on tthe Tube: thaw a frozen piece of fish overnight in the fridge in a bowl with mik, and 'it'll taste like freshy caught'!.

I haven't tried it myself yet, so no guarantees...

So ceviche is eaten raw - like sushi?

More like gravlax, I'd say - the lime juice 'cooks' the fish.

You can see the effect quite clearly if you squeeze lime juice over raw tuna fish, or red meat - it will pale in colour after a while.

I've not eaten ceviche, but have had carpaccio of tuna quite often as a starter, which is really similar by the sound of it.

According to my Flamenco teacher's mother, the ceviche was first created by fishermen that went out to fish several days in a row on Lake Titicaca. They'd bring lemons, limes, salt and chili with them, and live from some of the fish they caught, since they had no cooking facilities.

Wait a moment, lemons too? I had forgotten that part.

OK, here's a ceviche recipe from a food blogger at one of the dominating Swedish newspapers:

Marinade:
the juice of three lime fruits
1 finely chopped red onion
1 finely chopped clove of garlic
1 deseeded and very ripe tomato, diced
2 tbs of finely choppped red chili
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp of salt

This recipe used scallops, but most white fish will do, as long as it doesn't have a too distinct flavour of its own. Marinade for 4 hours in the fridge.

Ah, tomato - I think I've come one step closer to my Flamenco teacher's mother's ceviche.