If you ask me my favourite ceviche or tiradito, my answer will always be tiradito “apaltado” or tiradito with avocado. The avocado cuts the acidity from the lime and gives it an extra creamy texture. Learn how to make it with a delicious and creamy “tiger’s milk”.
Tiradito with avocado
If you’re not familiar with the term “tiradito” is a version of ceviche that is made with fish in slices instead of cubes like in a ceviche. It’s also not made typically with onion, like a ceviche. My inspiration for this tiradito with avocado comes from a restaurant I would visit all the time in Lima. It’s called Canta Rana and I must have had their tiradito apaltado at least 6 times. Sometimes I would order an extra of squid chicharrón and pour it on top, other times on its own. The biggest change from that recipe is that for this tiradito with avocado I made a creamy tiger’s milk. Tiger’s milk is how we call the mix of juice and other ingredients that you soak the fish in in a ceviche or tiradito. They serve theirs with a classic tiger’s milk, I made it into a creamy one because it’s my favourite (still dairy-free). To make a classic tiger’s milk just ignore the step when I add olive oil to it.
The fish
When we make a ceviche or a tiradito, there are two elements that are important. The first one is the fish. Independent of what fish I used, you always want to use a fish that’s very fresh and available where you live. That makes all the difference in taste and texture between a good and a not-so-good ceviche. I used sea bass, but you can also use sole, pomfret, mackerel, etc. Ideally, you want to go to a fish monger, ask for the fresh fish of the day and choose the one you like the most.
The lemon
Another important factor besides the fresh fish is the lime. When we make ceviches or tiraditos in Perú, the lime has a very nice sweetness to it. What I’ve learnt living away from Perú is that when limes are too sour, you have to compensate with a bit of sugar. You have to be able to drink the tiger’s milk straight from the bowl and enjoy it. If you can’t do that, you need to go back and correct the level of acidity with sugar or correct the level of salt. The other important note on this recipe is that you want to avoid squeezing the lime all the way like trying to get your taxes back. You want to squeeze just until it’s easy. In that way you don’t get any bitterness at all from it. Also, you want to get the lime juice as close as possible to the moment of serving, as it gets bitter with time. As soon as you get the juice, add a few ice cubes to keep it cool. With all these notes, your tiradito with avocado will be a hit.
Peruvian Tiradito wit Avocado (“apaltado”)
Print Pin RateIngredients
For the fish
- 400 g fish filet sea bass or another white fish
- Salt and pepper
For the creamy tiger's milk
- 50 g fish cuttings
- 150 ml lime juice Keep it cold with a bit of ice until you use it. Remember not to squeeze it too much to prevent bitterness.
- 2 garlic cloves
- 30 g brown onion
- 20 g peeled ginger
- 30 g celery
- Piece of chilli (I used rocoto) to taste
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Sugar optional
To serve
- 1 small avocado peeled and divided in 4 slices
- 50 g capers
- Olive oil
- Fresh basil leaves
Instructions
For the fish
- Cut the filet in 3mm thick slices, in the middle between sashimi and carpaccio. Cut the filet at an angle so you get wider slices.
- As you slice the fish, place them on the dish where you'll be serving the tiradito. You can lay them flat on the surface of the dish or like me as ribbons, it's up to you.
- Add salt and pepper to the fish and keep it in the fridge while we make the tiger's milk or "leche de tigre". The salt will dissolve in this time.
For the tiger's milk
- Place all the ingredients in a blender, you can also use an immersion blender.
- Give it 6-10 pulses to chop up the ingredients until they are very fine. You don't want to make a purée, just disintegrate the ingredients.
- Transfer the contents of the blender to a bowl with a colander or sieve on top. Press the ingredients down with the back of a spoon to get as much liquid as possible from the mix. Keep the tiger's milk and discard the rest.
- Rinse the blender and place the tiger's milk back in it. Turn it on to max speed and add the olive oil through the top opening slowly. It will become very creamy.
- Taste the tiger's milk, correct the level of salt, and if your limes were too sour (especially outside of Perú) add a bit of sugar at a time to balance the flavours. Your objective is to be able to drink the tiger's milk on its own because it's so good.
- Pour the tiger's milk over the fish.
To finish
- Sprinkle the capers on top, drizzle olive oil and finish with basil leaves. Ready to enjoy!
