steve wertz

Having had this at a restaurant the other night. It was good
enough that I was inspired to make an even better version. Most
version I've tried are too lemony for my tastes.

Tilapia Ceviche - An Original recipe courtesy of Steve Wertz

1/2 lb of frozen, skinless, individually wrapped tilapia fillets
(I trust these more than fresh or the frozen ice-crusted ones)
1 Large tomato, skinned with my new serrated peeler
1/2 Cucumber, peeled and seeded
1/2 Red (Purple) onion
1 Jalapeno, seeded
1 Orange Hungarian banana pepper, seeded (used mostly for color)
1 Ripe, medium avocado
10 springs of cilantro (or parsley if you don't like cilantro)
Enough fresh lemon and lime juice to cover fish and onions
(I used 2 of each)

Cut fish into approx 1/2" wide by 1/4" thick squares. Sliver the
onion into 1" lengths. Put both into glass bowl and cover with
just enough lemon/lime juice to cover and let sit for 3 hours,
stirring occasionally.

Dice tomato and cucumber (1/2" dice). Julienne 3/4" long strips
of peppers. Put into another bowl and mix in a teaspoon of salt.
Let sit until tilapia has marinated and turned opaque.

Drain the tilapia/onion mixture well. If it's too lemony, add a
pinch of baking soda. Mix in with the UNdrained vegetable mix.
Let the whole mixture marinate for 24 hours.

Dice avocado and roughly chop the cilantro and add to ceviche.
May be served at room temp or cold. Makes about 3-4 cups (6-8
appetizer-sized servings). The colors make for a very nice
presentation as well as being highly edible.

-sw