Growing up in the Philippines, I developed a taste for “kinilaw” - a Filipino style of ceviche. We often had it as a side dish or starter. It was one of my dad’s favorite dishes. It’s perhaps this childhood memory coupled with the hot weather that made it the perfect dish to remember Cartagena by.

It’s fitting that my first blog post about Cartagena be about ceviche. Not only did we have it as starters with every meal; we also learned how to make it. Ceviche is a seafood dish typically made from fresh raw fish cured in citrus juices, such as lemon or lime, and spiced with ají, chili peppers or other seasonings including chopped onions, salt, and cilantro.

La Cevicheria as the name implies is the mothership of ceviche in Cartagena. Its a tiny Mediterranean looking corner restaurant with outside tables that doesn’t take reservations and has a minimum one hour wait during peak times. Come at 4pm and you’ll be able to sit down right away.

My husband and I took a private cooking class at Hotel Casa Don Sancho. I was presented with two menus from which to choose from and I chose this menu: Ceviche, Bouillabaisse, Titote Coconut Rice, Patacones and Caramelized Tree Tomato. We started at 11am and sat down to eat, literally the fruits of our labor, at 1pm. Not only was the food delicious (if I may say so); but the time spent in the kitchen with Chef Javier and his crew was truly memorable. Between our broken Spanish and their competent English, we crossed so many barriers (mainly my husband’s humor) and broke new grounds of understanding.

Guess what’s for dinner tonight?

Photos by Michael Girman

Classic Fish Ceviche

by Hotel Casa Don Sancho

Ingredients

600 grams of fresh snook, red snapper or sea bass

200 grams of red bell pepper

100 grams of green bell pepper

200 grams of red onion

3 grams of spicy pepper

50 grams of cilantro

300 milliliters lime or lemon juice

30 grams ginger

1/4 cup sour cream

Salt to taste

Olive oil

Grapefruit

Preparation

Clean the filet making sure it does not have spines or scales on the skin. Cut into cubes of two centimeters, submerge in salt water for 10 minutes. How salty you ask? The water should taste like the sea. Take it out of the water and put it in the fridge.

Dice finely the red & green bell peppers, ginger & cilantro. Cut the red onion into long julienne strips. Assemble all your ingredients mise en place including sour cream in a mixing bowl.

Ten minutes before you are ready to serve the ceviche; take the fish out of the fridge and add it to the rest of the ingredients in the bowl. Squeeze lime or lemon juices onto the fish and add a dash of olive oil. Mix ingredients thoroughly, add salt to taste. Garnish with peeled grapefruit slices.

Enjoy with your loved ones!