We live in a land of immigrants who among other aspects of their lives bring a variety of foods with them. Ceviche, fish cured or marinated in citrus juices, is one of the many tastes we enjoy all over town.

Many years ago, I ventured down that rabbit hole and, for a house party, followed a recipe for ceviche using tilapia. Everyone, including a friend from Costa Rica, said it was good. Truthfully, who am I to know?

I was tempted again this past weekend. Long-time friends of Constant Companion were in town overnight on the way to a vacation in Mexico City. CC picked them up and gave them a driving tour of town as I was working.

By the time we were all together, I decided on a tasting table rather than a heavy dinner. I had some lovely brie with bruschetta. Other than fresh fruit, I don’t remember what else filled the table!

A new recipe for ceviche that entered my in-box earlier in the week sounded interesting. In a word – failure! Perhaps I did something wrong, perhaps it just was not to our taste. Simply put, it did not work. Perhaps you’ll give it a try and find out what I did wrong.

Red Snapper Ceviche in Preserved Lemon. One of the local Spanish supermarkets had beautiful snapper for a good price. I thought it would work perfectly. The fishmonger cleaned it thoroughly.* He did not, however, fillet the fish; I had to do that.

Years of watching Chopped and other tv cooking shows and a good fillet knife prepped me for that task. Not only did I fillet the fish, I did my best to slowly remove the skin!

*The bones and head are in the freezer for hopefully a more successful transformation into a fish soup of some sort.

Dice about one pound of red snapper fillets. I think I cut chunks not diced. Mix together with six tablespoons of preserved lemon paste,* ½ teaspoon salt, and two tablespoons of olive oil. Let sit for a minimum of two-three hours. The longer it sits, the more “cooked” the fish will become. Top with chopped cilantro and serve. The recipe recommended adding juice of half of a lemon to give it a more citrus flavor. I did that.

*I put some sliced lemons in the fridge along with a bit of the brine into a small mixer and, voila, preserved lemon paste.

It was an experiment, like much of my cooking. I was sad that it was not just wonderful for our well-traveled guests. I enjoyed the thought of ceviche and also using my new prep skills. I hope we’ll enjoy the next round – fish soup.