I learned the secrets of a truly great ceviche working with the famous Peruvian chef Flavio Solorzano. He told me two secrets that helped me unlock the dish’s full potential: 1. You need to smash the chiles to break their cell structure and help release their juices to flavor the dish. 2. MSG is a must. This simple ceviche exemplifies my cooking philosophy. There’s no greater challenge than simplicity—the best ingredients, carefully selected and simply prepared, yield the greatest results.
Directions
- Season the fish with salt and MSG and reserve, covered, in the fridge.
- Mix the red onions, lime juice, and jalapeños, and let them marinate for 10 minutes.
- Combine the seasoned fish, chile-lime mixture, and cilantro stems and let sit until the fish begins to cure (at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours in the fridge).
- Toss in the cilantro leaves at the very end and serve with chips.
Daniel Holzman
Daniel Holzman started his culinary career at the age of 15 working for Le Bernardin. He attended the Culinary Institute of America with a full scholarship from the James Beard Foundation then embarked on a 15 year culinary journey through some of the country’s finest kitchens including Palladin, Napa, The Campton Place, Aqua, Jardiniere and SPQR where his food received 3½ stars from the San Francisco Chronicle. In 2010 Daniel returned home to team up with his childhood best friend to open The Meatball Shop on New York City’s Lower East Side. Daniel’s culinary experience includes work with consumer packaged goods having launched multiple nationally distributed brands. Daniel is an avid traveler, writer, photographer, and teacher. He is the author of the bestselling Meatball Shop Cookbook, founder of Project Foodie, an online free culinary school and has appeared in countless broadcast segments, local and national publications, as a judge, competitor and the focus of reality television programming and authors a bi-weekly column for TASTE.