Ceviche in Winter

I had a ceviche like this when we stayed at an incredible little house in the Dordogne, France. We had been there for a week and had gotten close to the couple who owned the property. They invited us into their home for dinner on the last night. It was there that I had one of the most memorable meals of my life. Everything so simple, so fresh. Alain, our host, had made a ceviche like this one and I vowed to recreate it when we got home.

This is how easy it is:

• Take any fish that is very fresh (I just ask at our market what is fresh enough for ceviche that day.) This day I used shrimp, scallops (that he said had been caught the night before) and some sole. I have used trout and squid, I think Alain used mackeral. I like all the different textures, and certainly the sole at $4/lb vs the scallops at $19/lb makes the variety practical. 
• Put it all in a bowl and cover with either lemon or lime juice. This usually uses 2-3 lemons or limes. 
• After about 6 hours, the citrus will have "cooked" the fish (you will see it has turned white.) 
• Then I add capers and their juice, paper thin slices of red onion, some parsley or cilantro, and thinly sliced hot pepper or flakes. I also add a bit of zest from the citrus...now made even easier with my new microplaner! That's it! So fast, so good, company worthy, sheer goodness!