Ceviche is the ultimate summer snack. 5 easy recipes and how to give it your own spin
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At this point in the summer, all I want is a fan blowing cool air in my face at all times and for every meal to involve chilled seafood. I’ll take fresh-shucked oysters or seafood towers overflowing with crab legs and shrimp, but ceviche is my preferred dish. Its many adaptations make it possible to eat nearly every day without getting bored.
A traditionally Peruvian dish that involves marinating seafood in citrus with other ingredients, ceviche has since been adopted across Latin America and the Caribbean, with plenty of L.A. restaurants making their own sought-after renditions. It’s an easy dish to make at home and its flavors only intensify in the day or two after making it.
Virgilio Martinez, chef-owner of Central in Lima, Peru, which ranked No. 1 on the World’s Best Restaurants in Latin America list in 2023, told L.A. Times Food general manager Laurie Ochoa that recipes can vary, but the key to great ceviche is a “balance of ingredients” and “the best quality ingredients — fresh fish, lime, salt ... .”
When cooking on stage at L.A. Times Food Bowl last year, the chef made a sea bass ceviche, but any firm white fish works. Shrimp, octopus, crab meat and scallops can also be used, or a mix of seafood. At Food Bowl, Martinez soaked his fish in a leche de tigre (“tiger milk”) sauce with lime juice, celery, onion, garlic, jalapeño, cilantro leaves and stems, salt and spicy aji amarillo. “It has to be spicy,” Martinez said.
The versatility of ceviche invites experimentation with seasonal and local ingredients. Right now that might mean corn, tomato, bell peppers, avocado or Fresno chiles. Or passion fruit or mango if you’re leaning toward a sweeter profile.
Stagger the following recipes and you’ll have a cool, refreshing dish to snack on and battle the heat. Pile the ceviche onto tostadas or tortilla chips, or eat it with a spoon (be sure to scoop up the spicy-acidic juice that pools at the bottom).
The diversity of flavors and preparations — Peruvian-style ceviche with fresh ginger, a vegan “ceviche” with fava beans, spicy-sweet ceviche with coconut water and habanero chiles and a shrimp aguachile with pickled onions — ensure you won’t get bored.
L.A. Times Food Bowl is coming up in a matter of weeks. Renowned chefs such as Nancy Silverton will be demonstrating recipes on the cooking stage, with some of L.A.’s best restaurants handing out endless one-of-a-kind bites. Get tickets before it sells out.
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Peruvian Fish Ceviche
This Peruvian ceviche feels fit for a barbecue with garnishes of grilled corn and sweet potato. Local farmers markets make it possible to source Peruvian ingredients such as the South American country’s national herb huacatay and aji amarillo (buy it dried or frozen if you can’t find it fresh), but be flexible when it comes to selecting your fish. Finding a firm, sushi-grade option is the most important part, and it’s recommended to salt the fish before using to plump it up.
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Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes, plus chilling time. Serves 4 as a main dish; 6 to 8 as an appetizer
Coconut-Habanero Fish Ceviche with Poached Shrimp
This spicy-sweet ceviche delivers a melange of flavors and textures with poached shrimp, coconut water and dried coconut flakes, habanero chile, red onion, cucumber, the requisite lime juice and a couple teaspoons of sugar.
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Cook time: 1 hour 5 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
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Fresh Fava ‘Ceviche’ With Grapefruit and Chilies
Without seafood, this dish technically isn’t a ceviche but still nails the expected flavor profile with meaty fava beans, tart grapefruit and lime and spicy Fresno chiles. Store it in an airtight container and munch on this vegan take for up to two days.
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Cook time: 20 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling. Makes 2 cups.
Marinitas’ Peruvian ceviche
This recipe comes from the erstwhile Culinary SOS column where readers would write in requesting recipes from their favorite restaurants. This one’s a Peruvian ceviche recipe from Marinitas, a Latin American restaurant in Marin that’s still going strong. The recipe takes a few departures from typical preparations: It calls for sushi-grade salmon that’s given a quick sear, features earthy spices such as coriander and cumin and uses a lemony chile water instead of lime.
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Cook time: 30 minutes. Serves 2 to 4.
Shrimp Aguachile With Cucumbers and Pickled Onions
Similar to ceviche, aguachile is a Sinaloa-born dish that’s served immediately after ingredients are tossed together with lime juice, while ceviche ingredients typically marinate for 15 to 30 minutes. This shrimp aguachile is adapted from “My Mexico City Kitchen: Recipes and Convictions” by Gabriela Cámara and Malena Watrous and only requires a few ingredients.
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Cook time: 20 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
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