Green Herb Ceviche With Cucumber By James Beard Foundation Rick Bayless Recipes

GREEN CEVICHE WITH CUCUMBER

Steps:

• Place a dry nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Roast unpeeled garlic cloves and chilies, turning frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes for the chilies and 15 minutes for the garlic. Cool, then remove skins from garlic and stems from chilies.
• In a food processor, combine chilies, garlic, cilantro, parsley, olive oil and salt. Process until nearly smooth. Cover the herb paste and refrigerate until needed.
• To finish ceviche: In a large bowl, whisk together the lime juice and 1/2 cup of herb paste. Add fish and cucumber, and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or up to an hour). Transfer remaining herb paste to a jar, cover with a film of oil, refrigerate and save for another use, like stirring into eggs or smearing on chicken before roasting or grilling.
• Taste and season with additional lime juice or salt as desired. Gently fold in most of the avocado, reserving a few cubes as a garnish. Line plates or cocktail glasses with lettuce leaves, and top with ceviche and remaining avocado.

FISH MILANESE WITH CUCUMBER CEVICHE

Steps:

• Cook cilantro in a medium pot of boiling salted water until wilted, about 20 seconds. Drain and transfer cilantro to a bowl of ice water. Swish around in water to cool. Drain, then squeeze excess liquid from herbs with your hands.
• Purée cilantro, ginger, and 2 Tbsp. water in a blender until almost smooth. With motor running, gradually stream in oil and blend until smooth. Strain cilantro oil through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl; discard any solids. Mix lime juice into oil and season with salt.
• Do Ahead
• Cilantro oil (without lime juice and salt) can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before adding lime juice and salt.
• Fish and Assembly
• Process panko in a food processor until very finely ground (it will only take 45-60 seconds). Transfer to a shallow bowl. Place egg yolks in another shallow bowl and whisk in buttermilk. Place cornstarch in a third shallow bowl. Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels and set a wire rack inside.
• Working with 1 fillet at a time, season with kosher salt on both sides and dredge in cornstarch, shaking off excess. Dip in egg mixture, letting excess drip back into bowl, then coat in panko, pressing to adhere before shaking off excess. Repeat steps to make a second coating. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining fillets.
• Pour oil into a large heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, to come 1" up sides. Heat oil over medium-high until an instant-read thermometer registers 350°F-365°F (Don't let the tip of the thermometer touch the bottom of the skillet). Carefully lower a fillet along the side of skillet closest to you and let slide away from you into oil. Carefully swirl oil in skillet and cook fish just until golden on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Using a fish spatula or slotted spoon, carefully turn fish over and cook until golden on the other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer fish to wire rack in prepared baking sheet and season with sea salt while still hot. Repeat with remaining fillets.
• Toss cucumbers, fennel, onion, chile, cilantro oil, and a pinch of kosher salt in a medium bowl and top with some cilantro.
• Serve fish with cucumber ceviche and lime wedges.

CRAB CEVICHE WITH CUCUMBER AND JICAMA WITH GARLIC-RUBBED GRILLED BRUSCHETTA

Steps:

• For the ceviche:
• Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine.
• For the bruschetta:
• Coat a stove-top grill pan or griddle with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat to preheat. Brush olive oil all over both sides of bread slices. Place bread on hot pan and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. While still warm, rub garlic cloves all over bread. Serve bruschetta with ceviche.

SEAFOOD CEVICHE ON CUCUMBER ROUND TOPPED WITH GREEN CAVIAR

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, mix the jalapeno with the onion, lime juice, lemon juice, mango, papaya, cilantro and extra-virgin olive oil. Season mixture with salt and pepper, then stir in the scallops immersing them completely in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. (The acids in the marinade will "cook" the scallops.)
• Peel cucumbers and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. Strain scallop mixture and spoon onto cucumber disks. Top with 1/8 teaspoon of caviar.

JUICY AND SPICY CEVICHE

Steps:

• Stir the seafood mix and lime juice together in a large, non-metallic bowl; let stand 10 minutes. Fold in the diced tomatoes and onion; cover, and refrigerate 30 minutes. Whisk together the Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, tomato paste, cayenne pepper, cumin, chili powder, and salt in a small bowl. Cover, and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, gently stir half of the tomato paste mixture into the seafood mixture. Cover the remaining tomato paste mixture and the seafood mixture. Return both to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• After another 30 minutes, gently stir the remaining tomato paste mixture into the ceviche, cover, and refrigerate another 30 minutes.
• Gently stir the cilantro and diced avocado into the ceviche before serving.

CREAM CHEESE 'N HERB CUCUMBER BITES

Steps:

• Reserve 2 Tbsp. carrots. Mix remaining carrots with cream cheese; spoon into cucumber shells. Top with reserved carrots.
• Cut each cucumber half into 5 pieces to serve.

GREEN HERB CEVICHE WITH CUCUMBER BY JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION (RICK BAYLESS)

Steps:

• To make the herb seasoning 1. Set a dry skillet over medium heat.
• 2. Lay in the unpeeled garlic cloves and chiles. Roast, turning frequently, until they are soft and blotchy brown in spots, about 10 minutes for the chiles and 15 minutes for the garlic. Cool until easy to handle, and then slip the skins off the garlic, pull the stems off the chiles, and roughly chop (no need to remove the seeds).
• 3. Put them in a food processor along with the cilantro, parsley, oil, and two generous teaspoons salt. Process until nearly smooth (it will be pasty). Scrape the mixture into a storage container and refrigerate until serving time.
• To make the ceviche 1. In a large bowl, whisk together the lime juice and 1/2 cup of the herb seasoning. (Cover and refrigerate the remainder for another preparation.)
• 2. Add the fish and cucumber, and stir to combine.
• 3. To blend the flavors, cover and refrigerate for 1/2 hour (for best results, no more than one hour). Taste and season with a little more lime juice or salt if needed, then gently stir in the avocado (save a little for garnish if you want). Serve on plates or in martini glasses lined with lettuce leaves.