Tuna ceviche recipe with Sicilian flavors and spices: mint, cinnamon and fresh basil.
Tuna ceviche is a Mexican plate, right? In Italy we have carpaccio: tuna, salmon (with red pepper, what a thing!), sea bass and octopus carpaccio. These Italian “ceviches” are delicious, lemony, and intense. Not so far from the traditional ceviche recipe.
But what happens when you put together Mexican and Italian cuisine? Something special, something delicious!
I made this fresh tuna ceviche starting from the Mexican ceviche recipe and added herbs and spices that are typical of Sicilian cuisine.
Try making tuna fish ceviche tacos: add tortillas, guacamole, and sour cream.
Italian tuna ceviche recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium sized tuna filet
- 2 big lemons
- 1/2 big tomato
- 1 shallot
- 1 big sprig of mint
- 1 handful of basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil.
- salt
Instructions
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Remember: always freeze the fish for at least 24 hours before making ceviche.
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Juice the lemons.
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Dice the tuna filet, place it in a bowl and cover it with the lemon juice. Set aside and let marinate, at room temperature for at least a couple of hours.
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Finely chop the shallot, the tomato and the fresh herbs. Place everything in a bowl and season with olive oil, a pinch of salt and cinnamon. Set aside. It should marinate about 2 hours.
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When the fish is ready (flesh has cleared up), drain it and mix up the two bowls.
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Serve your sicilian tuna ceviche with tortilla chips, place them in fish burritos or tiny delicious taquitos.
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Also, why not (we are mixing cultures here…), have it with a fresh baked French baguette.
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when you should and should not eat tuna ceviche
A Mexican friend told me they traditionally do not eat CEVICHE on months without an R in the name (May, June, July & August).
There is an ancestral reason: these are the hottest months of the year and it is way more difficult to keep the fish fresh.
Sure, nowadays it sounds obsolete, but traditions are traditions.
Lucky me: I have no ceviche traditions, just a spasmodic love for it.
And I live in Italy.
This means I can also fluster traditional recipes.
So I did.
Latin friends, be clement to me… I swear, it was a good idea.
more ceviche recipes
If you really can’t let this go, and you want to go back to Latin American traditions, well…
I might partially be able to help you:
- You may try the basic ceviche recipe (to which I added lime zest).
- You may try the coconut milk ceviche (to which I added juicy mango)
- Or you may visit Ecuador and try the shrimp ceviche recipe (I just added decorative edible flowers here :-).
For now, let’s cook Italian: enjoy your Italian ceviche!
Claudia