The three appetizers are plenty to serve 6 as a starter course.

Peruvian Ceviche Appetizer 

Ingredients: 

halibut, approximately ½ lb. (the suggested fishes, croaker and bonito, were unavailable) 

lemon juice from 3 lemons, enough to cover fish 

red onion, 3 tablespoon minced 

corn kernels 

sweet potato, 1/2 medium sweet potato 

endive, one or two heads 

olive oil, optional 

Instructions: 

Chop fish into small pieces (consider varying the size with a portion of the fish minced since this is a delicate presentation.) Put in a non-reactive bowl and cover with lemon juice, onions and maybe a bit of zest too. Cover and marinate for at least 3 hours in the refrigerator. 

To prepare: slice sweet potato into thin pieces then julienne. Cook in olive to crisp and drain. Clean and trim endive leaves and top with a fork full of drained fish. Sprinkle corn kernels and top with sweet potato crisps. 

Note: The marinade of only lemon and onion is very clean, but also very sharp. To tone this down, a light drizzle of good olive oil before topping with corn and sweet potato works. 

Ceviche with Yellow Tomato and Cucumber 

The second ceviche recipe is a variation of a personal blueprint recipe that is basically fish, seafood and salsa. It starts with the craving for ceviche and is defined by what is on hand. Often times a shot of tequila finds its way into the final dish, just not this time. 

Ingredients: 

snapper ½ pound, small chop 

shrimp ¼ pound, small chop 

bay scallops ¼ pound, small shop

juice of three Valencia oranges, some zest to taste 

juice of two limes 

1 large yellow tomato, chopped

¾ of jalapeño, minced 

4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped 

2 tablespoons, red pepper, small julienne, then chopped 

3 tablespoons Zukay Live Foods cucumber relish, drained 

olive oil, two tablespoons 

endive, one or two heads 

Instructions: 

Put prepared fish and shellfish in a non-reactive bowl and cover with orange and lime juices, jalapeño and some citrus zest, if using. Cover and marinate for at least 3 hours in the refrigerator. One half hour before serving add the yellow tomato, red pepper, cilantro and cucumber relish and olive oil. 

To prepare: Clean and trim endive leaves. Drain the ceviche using a fork and top the endive with the ceviche. 

Notes: Garlic is typical in many ceviche recipes; it was excluded here for a guest. Cucumber is another common ingredient in my ceviche recipes. In fact, ceviche is sometimes made from yesterday’s leftover gazpacho by marinating the fish in citrus and mixing it with the gazpacho. This recipe used the Zukay Live Food cucumber relish instead of fresh cucumber because it was on hand and it is a fresh product not at all resembling traditional American relish. 

Cold Cucumber and Zucchini Blossom Soup 

Three large cucumbers, peeled seeded, chunked 

8 zucchini blossoms, (amount that was on hand) 

1 clove garlic, minced 

10 ounces chicken broth 

6 oz, greek yogurt 

4 oz, sour cream 

salt & pepper, to taste 

mint oil 

This dish was made ahead to the point before adding the dairy. The dairy was added 2 hours before serving then the soup was chilled further and mint oil added as garnish. 

Mince garlic by hand or in a blender. Add to garlic in blender, the cucumber chunks and prepared zucchini blossoms and half of the stock. Puree this mixture. 

Add the rest of the stock and blend a few more minutes to very smooth. Refrigerate the partially prepared soup. The next day, add dairy and add salt and pepper to taste. White pepper is good for this recipe, but black is fine also. Chill for two hours. Top with mint oil and serve.  

The appetizer course was followed by an entrée salad of mesclun greens, grilled green tomato and portabello mushrooms seasoned with chili pepper and paprika, topped with husk tomatoes, mustard balsamic vinaigrette and some leftover sweet potato crisps. 

Dessert was a walk to Lia’s Gelato for Spanish Bing Cherry Gelato. 

Take that Monday.