Black Drum Ceviche with Coconut Water, Cucumber, and Avocado

For a quick virtual vacation to the Yucatan, just open up the book Hartwood by Eric Werner and Mya Henry. As I turned the pages of my review copy, I was brought into the restaurant, Hartwood, and then on into the jungle where many of the ingredients used there are grown. The restaurant was built in 2010 in Tulum and was intentionally left mostly open to the surrounding natural setting. They have solar panels and a gas generator instead of power lines, ice is delivered, and the cooking is done over fire on a grill or in a wood-burning oven. The experience of the restaurant and the food served is very specific to the place despite the challenges that brings. The upkeep of the restaurant is a constant chore due to the heat, humidity, and rain. Werner and Henry clearly didn’t set out to take it easy after moving to the Riviera Maya. But, they did intend to take full advantage of all the local flavors available. The book explains how those flavors are built with roasted oils, pickled vegetables, and the use of wood smoke in the cooking. Lively mixes of fruits and chiles are seen in many dishes, and there are always suggestions for substitutions for ingredients and cooking techniques. I’ve marked the page for the Lentil and Papaya Salad with Lime and Honey Vinaigrette that’s made with summer squash and puffed amaranth seeds. There’s also a Grilled Nopales Salad with Queso Cotija served with a pink hard-boiled egg that was pickled with dried Jamaica flowers. The grilled seafood dishes all look fresh and flavorful like the Maya Prawns with Chipotle Mezcal Sauce served with sliced cucumber, radishes, and mandarin orange segments. There are also vegetable dishes, meat, desserts, and fruity cocktails. My first task was to choose one of the several recipes for ceviche because they all sounded fantastic. 

Of course, the most important thing about ceviche is choosing some perfectly fresh fish. In the book, each recipe is specific to a different type of fish, but there are suggestions for other good options depending on what’s available. In the past, I’ve always cut fish for ceviche into small cubes. Here, thin cuts against the grain are advised. The pieces are shaped more like sashimi. I decided to try the recipe called Ceviche de Robalo in the book, and robalo is a fish that moves in and out of fresh and saltwater. I used Gulf-caught black drum instead. My reason for choosing this version of ceviche was the juices, fruits, and vegetables that come together in it. The sliced fish was marinated in orange juice and lime juice with chopped red onion, sliced red serrano, and salt. Meanwhile, a cucumber was juiced by pureeing it in the blender and then straining it. That juice was mixed with coconut water. After the fish had marinated in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour, it was moved with a slotted spoon to a serving dish. The cucumber-coconut water mixture was ladled over the fish. The garnishes were grapefruit segments, thin batons of jicama and radishes, little cubes of cucumber and avocado, and I added cilantro leaves. I can never resist baking some long, thin wedges of tortillas to serve with ceviche. 

Enjoying this dish was like a mini getaway with the flavors of coconut, serrano, fresh fruits, and crunchy vegetables. I might always add coconut water to ceviche from now on. Obviously, this restaurant makes the most of the variety of produce available nearby. I’d like nothing more than to visit in person and stroll in after a day on the beach, but until I can get there, I’ll keep virtually traveling with the book. 

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Inspired by Brazil

I had no idea how little I knew about Brazil. Obviously, I need to visit this country. Happily, I’ve learned a few new things during the Central Market Passaporte Brasil event which continues until May 7. For example, I was previously completely unfamiliar with Brazilian wine. Now, I know there’s a very active wine industry there making fantastic wines of all kinds. One of my favorites that I tasted was a sparkling wine from Casa Valduga which was crisp with acidity and perfect for pouring this summer. I also learned about Shrimp Moqueca which is a spicy stew with bell peppers, chiles, coconut milk, coconut shards, and dende oil but more on that in a moment. Throughout the two-week event, there are tastings, musical and dance performances, special products in the store, and classes focused on Brazilian food and wine. I attended the Inspired by Brazil class taught by Susan Feniger with a media pass and received a copy of her book Susan Feniger's Street Food. She demonstrated several Brazilian-inspired dishes while explaining knife techniques and cooking tips and teasing the cooking school staff. She said in her restaurants, her own staff often says “here comes Susan, quick add acid, add salt.” That’s because she wants every dish to taste like the best thing you’ve ever eaten. If a salad or sauce was made in advance and has been sitting, the flavor has a chance to dull. You need to taste it again before serving and perk it up. Everything served that night was full of exciting flavors with citrus, chiles, ginger, and cilantro. 

She started off by making a ginger and lemongrass tea with honey. Once steeped, it’s lovely by itself or makes a great base for a cocktail. And, then she realized everything we would be tasting that night would have ginger and/or cilantro in it. I was perfectly happy with that. Our first course was Ceviche with Mangos and Sweet Potatoes. Feniger’s preference is for ceviche to be about one-half fish and one-half other ingredients. The result is a nice mix of textures. Here, the ingredients were diced fish, lime juice, red onion, jalapeno, mango, diced and roasted sweet potato, aji amarillo, minced ginger, chopped cilantro, pickled red onion, and plantain chips for serving. You could fry long slices of plantain and pile the ceviche on top, or serve smaller chips for scooping. 

Next was a salad that could easily be a meal in itself, and it will when I make it at home. The Vegetable Salpicon was a mix of julienned carrots, chayote, and radishes, blanched green beans, red cabbage thinly sliced, chives, and cilantro leaves. All of those vegetables were tossed with a dressing made with garlic, ginger, lemongrass, jalapeno, white wine, and champagne vinegar which were simmered until reduced. Then, saffron was added and allowed to steep before mayonnaise was incorporated. Crispy, shoestring potatoes were tossed with the vegetables and dressing, and the salad was topped with more potato strings. 

And, then I was introduced to Shrimp Moqueca (photo at top). This lovely, spicy, shrimp stew can be dressed-up and garnished in various ways or kept simple as you wish. It’s started by cooking diced onion and bell pepper to which tomatoes and chiles are added. Fish stock and coconut milk are poured over the vegetables, and it’s left to simmer. Meanwhile, shrimp were cooked in a separate pan, and sliced green onions, lime juice, dende oil, and cilantro were added. Just before serving, the shrimp mixture was added to the simmering coconut milk mixture. To garnish, toasted coconut shards, diced lime supremes, and sweet-spicy little peppers like peppadews were placed on each serving. I’m so happy to have learned about this dish. 

The last course of the evening involved a few different parts. First, there were quartered, cooked artichokes topped with an oregano salsa verde and served with olive aioli. Dipping the salsa-dressed artichoke leaves into the aioli was delicious. And, that was served next to sliced grilled skirt steak that had been marinated with a thick, pureed mix of jalapenos, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, and olive oil. Feniger suggested trying that marinade on fish before grilling, and I can’t wait to do that. The skirt steak was topped with a hearts of palm chimichurri which would also be great with fish. I’m not sure when I’ll get to Brazil, but in the meantime, I have several new dishes to make at home while dreaming about it. 

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Green Herb Ceviche with Cucumber

The 2012 James Beard Foundation award winners were just announced. In Austin, we're all extremely proud of Paul Qui who won Best Chef Southwest. This year's Outstanding Chef was Daniel Humm. The James Beard Foundation has been giving annual awards since 1990, and the foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2011. I received a review copy of the book The James Beard Foundation's Best of the Best which honors all the recipients of the Outstanding Chef title from the first that was awarded through the 2010 award. While this isn't a cookbook for quick and easy weeknight dinners, it is a wonderful collection of bios of all the Outstanding Chefs, and each bio is accompanied by a signature dish or two or three from the chef. I probably won't attempt the Hot Potato, Cold Potato, Black Truffle, Parmesan dish from Grant Achatz who won in 2008, but it is fascinating to read about how it's made after reading about Achatz's career. There are photos of most of the dishes, and the salads are all gorgeous and very approachable. There's a Beet Salad with Mango, Feta, Orange, and Mint from Alfred Portale, a Greenhouse Salad with Blue Hill Farm Yogurt from Dan Barber, and a Summer Salad from Alice Waters. I'd love to adapt and simplify a couple of the recipes like the Chilled Honeydew Melon Soup with Crab Remoulade from Jeremiah Tower and the Spice-Roasted Lobster with Buttermilk Chutney from Tom Colicchio. What was most interesting about this book was learning how several of these chefs have worked together or under some of the same chefs at some point in their careers. And, did I mention the photos of the food? There is page after page of very beautiful food.

While most of the recipes are somewhat complicated chef dishes shown just as they are served at the restaurants, a few of them are very doable. One of those is the Green Herb Ceviche by Rick Bayless who was Outstanding Chef in 1995. Here in Austin, we're surrounded by many, great Mexican restaurants, and I order ceviche from their menus often. The few times I've made it at home, I went the simple, classic route with lime juice and chiles. This ceviche caught my eye because it started with an herb seasoning made with garlic, serranos, cilantro, parsley, and olive oil. The chiles and garlic were roasted before being pureed with the other ingredients. Some of that puree was mixed with lime juice for the marinade for the fish. I used halibut which was cut into small chunks before being left in the lime juice mixture for about an hour. Small chunks of cucumber were marinated with the fish as well. Just before serving, chunks of avocado were added to the ceviche.

I loved the herby green of this ceviche, the fresh crunch of cucumber in it, and of course the avocado. I have to say, it's fun to attempt to cook like an Outstanding Chef. It's also fun to flip through a yearbook of sorts of some of our very best American chefs.

Green Herb Ceviche with Cucumber (Ceviche Verde con Pepino)
Recipe re-printed with publisher's permission from The James Beard Foundation's Best of the Best.

Herb Seasoning
1/2 head garlic, cloves broken apart
2 or 3 fresh serrano chiles
1 medium bunch cilantro, thick bottom stems cut off (1 cup packed) 1
 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, thick bottom stems cut off (1 cup packed)
1/2 cup olive oil salt

Ceviche
1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus more if needed
1 1/2 pounds sashimi-quality skinless, boneless fish fillets, such as Alaskan halibut
7 ounces small pickling cucumbers or Persian (baby) cucumbers, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Salt, if needed
2 ripe large avocados, pitted, flesh scooped from skin and cut into cubes
Lettuce leaves, preferably butter lettuce, for garnish

To make the herb seasoning
1. Set a dry skillet over medium heat. Lay in the unpeeled garlic cloves and chiles. Roast, turning frequently, until they are soft and blotchy brown in spots, about 10 minutes for the chiles and 15 minutes for the garlic. Cool until easy to handle, and then slip the skins off the garlic, pull the stems off the chiles, and roughly chop (no need to remove the seeds). Put them in a food processor along with the cilantro, parsley, oil, and two generous teaspoons salt. Process until nearly smooth (it will be pasty). Scrape the mixture into a storage container and refrigerate until serving time.

To make the ceviche
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the lime juice and 1/2 cup of the herb seasoning. (Cover and refrigerate the remainder for another preparation.) Add the fish and cucumber, and stir to combine. To blend the flavors, cover and refrigerate for 1/2 hour (for best results, no more than one hour). Taste and season with a little more lime juice or salt if needed, then gently stir in the avocado (save a little for garnish if you want). Serve on plates or in martini glasses lined with lettuce leaves.

Serves 6 to 8 as a starter

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Entertaining, Chilean Style

I was recently transported, metaphorically speaking, to Chile for an evening of learning about the country’s food and wine. I’d love to really go there someday, and travel along the entire long coastline. That night, I learned about wine making in Chile and how easily a diversity of plants grow in different regions of the country at the class Entertaining, Chilean Style at Central Market Cooking School. The class was taught by Ruth Van Waerebeek, house chef of Concha y Toro and owner of Hostal Gastonomico and Mapuyampay Cooking School in Chile, and I attended with a media pass. As the name of the class implied, all the dishes presented were good choices for parties, and they each hinted at both traditional Chilean cooking styles and influences from afar. For instance, cuisine from both Chile and Argentina has been affected by adopted Chinese and Japanese flavors. Traditional ceviches are combined with Asian ingredients like soy sauce and sesame oil. Influence has also come from France for both cooking and wine making. Rich buttery sauces and custards combined with local, Chilean ingredients are common, and a lot of Chilean vine stock originally came from France. And, of course, the South American enthusiasm for meat is evident in Chilean food where lamb is prevalent.

Our first dish of the class was cucumber rolls with shrimp and salmon ceviche with a spicy Asian-style dipping sauce, and this was paired with Casillero del Diablo Sauvignon Blanc. Van Waerebeek suggested briefly poaching the shrimp if it’s not absolutely, perfectly fresh. For ceviche, she prefers to only marinate the raw fish for 30 minutes, so sushi-quality freshness is key. The sauce here was a spicy mix of soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, chopped red chile, and black and white sesame seeds.

Next, we saw some of that French influence in a baked scallop dish with parmesan butter and sauteed vegetables. In season, local vegetables would be used here, and for this version, carrot and bell pepper were thinly julienned and sauteed until crisp. The vegetables were placed in the bottom of ramekins and were topped with a scallop. Smaller, bay scallops are more common in Chile, and if using those, a few would be placed on top of the vegetables. The scallops were topped with a generous bit of parmesan butter and were then broiled to just cook the scallops almost through. This dish was served with a young, light Casillero del Diablo Chardonnay.

Quinoa is one of those many plants that grows so well in Chile, and the seeds are prized for nutritional content. They were used here for a vegetarian custard. The egg and milk base was blended with pureed fresh corn, cooked quinoa was added, and sauteed, finely diced zucchini, bell pepper, and leeks were added as well. The custard was cooked in individual portions in ramekins, and the airiness of the custard was given heft by the tender pearls of quinoa. This course was served with Casillero del Diablo Carmenere, and we learned that Carmenere is the flagship varietal of Chile. It’s a light enough red wine to pair well with a range of flavors.

The quinoa custard was followed by a lamb chop served with an almond, green olive, and mint salsa. The lamb was marinated in olive oil with rosemary and garlic before being grilled, and the salsa was an easy puree of toasted almonds, green olive, fresh mint, and a little white wine to thin as needed. The wine was a robust Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon, and it was my favorite wine of the evening.

Dessert wasn’t a Chilean dish at all, but rather, it was a Catalonian idea for ending a meal imported from Spain. An aged Manchego cheese was served with pieces of rosemary bread and black cherry preserves, and this was paired with Casillero del Diablo Reserva Privada. Although this idea came from Spain, sheep’s milk cheeses similar to Manchego are common in Chile but are difficult to find outside the country.

Until I get a chance to trek the length of Chile, I can at least daydream about it and enjoy these dishes and wines at home. The seafood, the quinoa, and the wine will be waiting when I finally get there.


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