Ghia ceviche
Greetings from Sardinia! Where the fish is served raw spooned over pasta cooked al dente, the wines are local and the extra virgin olive oil is the star. Having raw fish with pasta has been a new experience for me & it reminded me of a ceviche I made with the original Ghia aperitif shortly before we left for our Europe holiday. Raw fish pasta has blown my socks off and I imagine I won’t be shutting up about it for some time, at least until I’ve told everyone I know about the gorgeous fresh raw fish I had with pasta al dente in North Sardinia. Before I dive into that, I’ll go back to a few weeks ago.
(my newest obsession! this was raw swordfish & calamarata, a pasta shape inspired by calamari rings!)
Pete came home from a private event (he is a private chef) with a piece of fresh yellowtail kingfish and asked me to prepare it as a raw fish dish to have for dinner — luckily we were already having blueberry earl grey margaritas & beef tacos so it was an easy dish to slip in as a starter. The funny thing about us, in regards to work and cooking, is it feels like he cooks for work and I cook for fun, so when he comes home from cooking all day I can step in and do it and be excited about it so it’s a nice balance.
Luckily I already had a ton of limes for the margaritas and ceviche needs lots of fresh lime to cure the fish ever so gently. Just fresh lime, flakey salt and the original Ghia aperitif makes for a gently ginger-spiced ceviche, still bright and light, with an ever-so-light Mediterranean essence. It’s exactly what I felt ceviche needed every time I’ve made it, something with a hit of flavor without having to use too many ingredients. Just a shot or so of Ghia and it’s the easiest dish to make.
I just added some fresh cilantro towards the end once the fish had been cured in the fridge with lime and salt. You could add diced red onion, jalapeño, radish or fruit such as mango, cherries, or plum. Ghia has an orange-peel-citrusy, earthy-bitter and gingery botanical flavor profile that is best imagined as a European or Mediterranean style aperitif. It’s dry & a strong essence of ginger, which makes for an excellent pairing to fresh lime.
If you feel inspired and go out to buy the Ghia aperitif, I suggest trying a Ghia margarita too, or a Ghia Paloma, made by just adding a generous splash to your margarita or Paloma before shaking. You can get this beautiful pink color by doing that if you didn’t want to make blueberry margaritas.
My Ghia ceviche doesn’t have a particular recipe to it, mainly because I want to keep it simple & easy to follow. All you will need is:
raw fish, something with a clean flavor (I don’t suggest raw tuna because it loses it’s gorgeous red color once it’s cured & goes grey, so I would stick to light colored fish
fresh limes, juiced, about ½ cup worth of juice
the original Ghia aperitif, for maximum flavor
fresh herbs like cilantro, or if you dislike cilantro, try mint, oregano or parsley
flakey salt, like Maldon
extra virgin olive oil, bonus points for a green oil, blended with herbs & strained (that’s what I used because I already had it)
Here’s how to make it:
prep fish by slicing into cubes, or any similar sized shape so they cure evenly, for two servings, aim for 150g of fish.
transfer fish into a deli container and pour over fresh lime juice, enough so that the fish is covered at least ¾ of the way. You can toss it halfway through curing to ensure evenness. I like to use a deli container as opposed to a bowl, so I can use less lime juice to cover the fish. Add a pinch of flakey salt and mix through.
Place into the fridge and cure for 20 mins. Gently mix halfway through to ensure it cures evenly.
It’s done curing once the fish is white & no longer translucent.
Spoon the cured fish into a serving plate, leaving behind most of the lime juice but any drippings along with the fish are okay. I’ll actually use a tablespoon or two of the lime juice!
Pour over a couple of spoonfuls of Ghia over the fish, along with fresh herbs and a drizzle of olive oil. Taste and adjust for extra Ghia, maybe a squeeze of lime or salt.
Enjoy with tortilla chips and more dips as a starter! I hope you enjoy!
