My first encounter with ceviche proper was on a hitchhiking jaunt to Mexico – happier and safer days then. Every day seemed peppered with ceviche plates, or ceviche plates were peppered every day? However I choose to remember it, the flavors are front of mind still: bright perfumy cilantro, sweet raw onions, hot chilies, same day fish swimming in lime juice with sometimes tomatoes, sometimes cucumbers, sometimes avocado.
You need really fresh fish to make any kind of ceviche. So when fresh trout presented themselves in the “Cheile Dimbovicoara” (although hard to say who looked more unhappy at the prospect of custom, the owner or the fish themselves) a fresh, light, summery ceviche was a must.
With a seed sown on an inspirational “fish preserving” course in Italy (local fish, orange juice, olive oil marinade served with orange and fennel salad) here is a version that uses local bounty (robust parsley, fresh red onions, sweet tomatoes and “ardei iute”).
