Rosie Birkett's Ceviche & Guacamole

Cookbook author, food journalist and enthusiast Rosie Birkett popped up on The Shift Show to help us celebrate CINCO DE MAYO! We had so much fun preparing this ceviche and quick guacamole.

If you are not familiar with Rosie and her writing, then you will have missed out on her two cookbooks; A Lot on Her Plate and The Joyful Homebook, as well as her weekly column in the Dish at the Sunday Times. This recipe comes from her first book, and it will certainly be a recipe we turn to for those last minute get-togethers, cocktail hours or as an easy starter for a dinner party.

We changed the original recipe (picture below) for the show, so don’t look at the photo and think you’ve missed something or done a rubbish job! We bet it looks (and tastes) great!

FOR THE CEVICHE

2 very fresh boneless & skinless cod, hake, coley or pollock (we used sea bream and it was heaven)

Juice of 2 limes, grated zest of 1

Grated zest & juice of 1/2 grapefruit

2 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp caster sugar

1 red birds eye chilli, very finely chopped

1 bunch coriander, for garnish (and finely chopped to add into your guacamole below)

FOR THE GUACAMOLE

1 ripe avocado

1/2 shallot

1 lime - juice and use as much to taste

Red or green chilli - to taste

Salt & pepper to taste

Handful of cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped

Small bunch of coriander finely chopped

METHOD

Remove any pin bones from your fish fillets, and slice the fillets thinly across the grain.

In a bowl mix your lime and grapefruit zests and juice together along with fish sauce, sugar and half the chilli. Alter this to your taste buds, we love chilli so added more of that for some extra heat. But it’s up to you!

Put the fish into your bowl to marinade for about 10-15 minutes, stirring gently halfway through to make certain it’s evenly coated.

While your fish is “cooking” make up your guacamole. Add your avocado to a bowl with your shallot, lime juice, salt, pepper, tomatoes and chilli. Mash them all up with a pestle and mortar, fork or spoon - any tool you can find! taste it and doctor it to your liking.

Once the fish looks like it’s “cooked” on the outside, but still slightly raw on the inside, drain the marinade into a jug and plate up your fish. Drizzle some of the marinade on top, garnish with coriander and further chilli.

Serve with tortillas that have been lightly fried, tortilla chips or get creative and use any vessel of your choosing!

Taken from Rosie’s book, ‘A Lot on Her Plate’.