Sea bream Ceviche with mango and ginger.

I adore a ceviche in summer. Its cool and fresh and tangy. Its easy and quick and without fuss. An none dancing around a hot stove or oven. And everybody loves it. There are so many variations, play around with fresh, fresh fish and ingredients and create your own ceviche, according to your likes. You need fresh fish and fresh herbs and limes and the rest is up to you.

Recipe:

  • olive oil
  • 2 large spring onions with medium bulb
  • 2 cloves of garlic, cleaned
  • fresh ginger, cleaned
  • 250g sea bream or other delicate white fish
  • 3 green limes
  • 1 lemon
  • Grated rind of one lime
  • 4 TBSP of cold fish stock
  • fresh coriander leaves
  • Half green chilli pepper, seeds removed
  • 1 mango, sliced into cubes
  • Small cucumber, sliced into cubes
  • 1 red onion, halved and sliced.
  • Small edible flowers (optional)
  1. Leche de tigre: Roughly cut the spring onion whites, the garlic, the chilli pepper and the cleaned ginger and add to an electric mixer.
  2. Add the juice of the limes and lemon, the cold fish stock and the grated rind of the lime to the mixture.
  3. Mix it all together until a smooth liquid. Add about 2 TBSP of olive oil.
  4. Clean and dry the fish filets, cut into thin slices and add to a large porcelain bowl.
  5. Pour the leche de tigre over the fish to cover and marinate the fish in the fridge for about 30 minutes to and hour.
  6. Add the cubed mango and cucumber to the fish mixture.
  7. Divide the mixed ceviche between 4 plates.
  8. Spoon over the rest of the marinade(leche de tigre).
  9. Add some sliced green of the spring onion, some chilli pepper rounds without the seeds and some sliced red onion. Drizzle with olive oil.
  10. Lastly, decorate with fresh coriander leaves and one or two small, colourful edible flowers.
  11. Serve cold.

Serves four as a starter

Pinch of salt:

  • Use very fresh fish and keep cold.
  • Leche de tigre – tigers milk…. lime juice, fresh herbs and some fish stock.
  • Skip the fruit and use only the cucumber or use another fruit of your choice.
  • The leche de tigre, or marinade cooks the raw fish.
  • Enjoy

Tomato salad with onions,walnuts,seeds and labneh with sumac.

Nothing beats simplicity on life. A simple tomato salad. Full of flavour and a taste of summer. A salad only to be eaten in season when the tomatoes are local and fresh and in abundance. I love labneh and with the added sumac, it adds a mediterranean flavour to the salad.

Recipe:

  • A variety of tomatoes in colour and size
  • A handful of mixed seeds, pumpkin seeds, lin seeds, sunflower seeds, and dried black currants
  • A few walnuts, roughly crushed
  • 1 large spring onion, diced on the diagonal
  • Plenty of fresh basil leaves
  • Labneh, torn in chunks
  • Sumac
  • Salt
  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar
  1. Labneh: Place a piece of muslin, or clean cotton towel over a sieve over a bowl. Scoop about two heaped TBSP of greek joghurt, or Skyr, onto the muslin. Add one heaped teaspoon of salt to the joghurt. Pull the ends of the muslin together and twist to form a ball of the joghurt. Put in the fridge and let it drain overnight. Remove the ball of joghurt(labneh) from the muslin and place in a separate bowl. Sprinkle liberally with sumac.
  2. Cut the tomatoes in different sizes and slices for interest. Add to a large bowl.
  3. Add the slices onion, sprinkle with salt and pepper some more sumac and mix the salad gently.
  4. Transfer to a large platter .
  5. Sprinkle the nuts, seeds and currants without mixing the salad.
  6. Add the torn labneh chunks.
  7. Liberally add some basil leaves.
  8. Drizzle lastly with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
  9. Serve with crusty bread and some more labneh and sumac on the side.

Serves 4

Pinch of salt:

  • Use goats cheese instead of the labneh.
  • Use seeds or nuts of your choice.
  • Add slices of peach to the salad.
  • Use Skyr, zero percent fat joghurt instead of fullfat greek joghurt for a healthier version, you won’t even know the difference!
  • Omit the onion if you have small children who dont eat onion, it won’t change the salad.
  • dont hesitate to mop up the tomato juices with your country bread!

Labneh: Place a piece of muslin, or clean cotton towel over a sieve over a bowl. Scoop two heaped TBSP of greek joghurt, or Skyr, onto the muslin. Add one teaspoon of salt to the joghurt. Pull the ends of the muslin together and twist to form a ball of the joghurt. Put in the fridge and let it drain overnight. Remove the ball of joghurt(labneh) from the muslin and place in a separate bowl. Sprinkle liberally with sumac.

Save any leftover labneh in a bowl with olive oil.