Ingredients

• 1 kg fresh fish fillets
• 2 ears corn on the cob
• 20 limes
• 4 sprigs cilantro
• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 1 large red onion or 2 medium ones
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic (or to taste)
• 6 leaves hydroponic, green-leaf or organic lettuce
• 2-3 limo ají peppers (or 1/2 chopped rocoto chili pepper, according to preference)

Method

First, thoroughly rinse the fish fillets and cut them into small cubes of slightly less than 1 inch. Place them in a glass container, preferably with ice cubes to keep them fresh. Chop the limo ají peppers or rocoto chili peppers into small pieces, removing the seeds to make them less spicy (if desired). Julienne the onions. It is very important to cut them into thin, feather-like strips. To make the onion flavor milder, we recommend placing them in a glass container with fresh water and adding 1 tablespoon of refined sugar. Finely chop the four sprigs of cilantro, removing the stems.

Parboil the corn and sweet potatoes (in the microwave for three minutes each). After boiling them, peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into medium-size pieces. Do the same for the corn. Cut the lemons in half and remove the seeds. Juice them into a glass container. Avoid over-squeezing the lemons to keep the bitter flavor of the rind out of the juice. Once the lemon juice is ready, mix it with the minced garlic, MSG, salt and pepper for 20 seconds to combine all the ingredients.

Add the limo ají peppers or rocoto chili peppers and the drained fish (without ice) to the container with the lime juice. Then rinse off the sweet flavor of the sugar the onion was soaking in and add the onion, followed by the cilantro. Once all the ingredients are in the container, stir them well using a steel spoon (never a wooden one). Finally, serve it in a small dish with a lettuce leaf, a chunk of sweet potato, and a piece of corncob. It is customary to serve ceviche with some cancha serrana (corn nuts), or chifles (thin round slices of fried plantain). The dish is complemented well by a glass of ice cold beer or chicha morada (a traditional corn beverage).