Ceviche De Pescado (Fish Salad Cooked in Lime Juice)

By: Witch Doctor
Apr 9, 2007

The appreciation of good food is one thing people all over the world have in common. When traveling around the world, dining on local cuisine is an important part of exploring different cultures and regions. On one of my first encounters with local cuisines from another country was in Lima, Peru. I had been invited there for business purposes by the then Minister of Health, Dr. Waldo Fernandez. Waldo and I had become friends when I was employed by St. Luke’s/Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. As our friendship progressed, he had invited me to Peru, which I accepted My visit coincided with the convening of the Peruvian Congress of Cardiology at which I was invited to make a presentation. At the banquet that terminated the convention, I was introduced to the Peruvian National Drink – the “Pisco Sour.” This drink was so delicious, I had to have the recipe and was given the original recipe by Waldo who had obtained it from the vineyard at Tabernero. I will publish this shortly. The next day, I was invited to visit the military hospital there in Lima by Dr. Jaime Contrerous, the Director of all the military hospitals in Peru. Dr. Contrerous invited me back into the patient exam area where he introduced me to a quite large gentleman on a treadmill. It turned out that this gentleman was the then “President for Life” or dictator. He was the last dictator of Peru before he stepped down and allowed free elections. “El Presidente” invited me to lunch at his personal golf course the next day. He sent his personal car to pick me up and deliver me to the golf course. When I arrived, I found a marvelous wonderland of flowers that I had never seen before. Birds of Paradise were everywhere. I was startled to see peons everywhere watering each flower by hand with huge water buckets. Other peons were cutting the grass on the course by hand using giant scissors! El Presidente had his staff set up tables on the 18th green and we were served lunch there. The first course turned out to be ceviche made with the local langostinos. Except for the sushi I had in Japan, I had never eaten raw fish before. Then El Presidente explained that the lime juice that was used in the preparation actually cooked the fish. It was so delicious, I asked for the recipe and was granted it.