How to make ceviche in two easy steps

Most of Canada has been stinking hot this summer, and let’s face it, nobody wants to cook through severe heat alerts.

But what if I told you that you could cook a terrific lunch without even turning on the oven, barbecue or stove? And what if I said this dish was totally tasty, and healthy too? If you haven’t already guessed it, this magical summertime dish is ceviche.

Ceviche is a recipe where bite-sized pieces of fish and seafood are “cooked” in citrus juices, the citric acid getting the job done. Hugely popular in Central and South America (trend alert: Peruvian food is totally taking off), the Incas preserved their fish with fruit juice, salt and peppers; Spanish conquerors later introducing the now ever-present limes to the mix.

Traditionally, ceviche was marinated for about 3 hours, but with modern refrigeration, where the fish is impeccably fresh and the dish is eaten right away, you can marinate it in mere minutes, or just until the fish turns opaque. There’s simply no better dish for beating the heat.

Here’s my easy, go-to ceviche recipe, which does well as an appetizer or a lunch dish.

Amy's ceviche
Ingredients 6oz firm skinless, boneless whitefish, such as halibut, sliced into 1/2-inch cubes ¼ tsp sea salt 2 small limes, juices 1 avocado 2 small plum tomatoes 1 green onion 1 jalapeno 1 tbsp cilantro leaves 1 tsp olive oil

Directions 1. Toss fish with salt and then toss again with lime juice. Set aside for 30 minutes. 2. With about five minutes left of marinating time, dice avocado, seed and dice plum tomatoes, chop green onion, and seed and mince jalapeno. Drain fish, then toss with remaining ingredients and serve with crispy tortilla chips.

Serves 2