By Michael Safdiah

 

I will want to tell you about a delicious seafood salad I enjoyed at least eight times on my recent trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. This beautiful old postcard perfect town rises from the Banderas Bay up onto the surrounding hills. Church bells chime several times a day. But the nine o’clock bells signify the start of music and dancing. You can hear the disco music everywhere. If you call it a tourist destination you'd be right, but there’s so much more. Get away from the crowds; just go and eat local. They know how to eat. The restaurants cook for the American taste, but I didn’t go there to eat American. Would you?

In addition to stunning sunsets, the bay provides an abundance of untainted seafood. Fresh shrimp, snapper, miniature swordfish and a host of others are caught with nets right from the beach. Imagine wood grills spit roasting them al fresco, on the beach, and being served with thin paper napkins and local versions of red, and even hotter green chili sauces. It seemed the locals never ate anything what wasn’t drowned in one of those sauces. Being the softie I am, the taste of the un-sauced seafood was excellent. But I could see myself growing into the chili spices; everyone does eventually.

Small avocados grow everywhere, ripen in no time and are perfect to spread on the hearty rolls you can buy. Mash the fruit, add a squeeze of juice from a tart, locally grown lime was my breakfast almost every day.

A special treat—some lightly roasted coffee beans from the Yucatan—which surpassed every coffee I ever tasted. Okay there was one chilly early morning in the mountains in Colombia when we were about to catch the only bus into Ecuador. It was a Saturday, the border was officially closed—it was the guards' day off. Just 6 a.m. in the foggy, damp mountain air, we sat freezing, around stone tables where cruets of ebony colored coffee concentrate were arranged. You poured the ink into your cup, an old, broad-beamed native woman hefting an enormous pot of just boiled water into your cup. Voila, coffee! 

But let’s get back to the seafood salad: I’m speaking of is ceviche, the freshest seafood “cooked” in lime juice. I got addicted to this stuff. I’d never really seen it like this in New York.

Only the juice from those tart limes is used to cook freshly caught camarones (shrimp), and other white fish. No heat is used; just the lime will safely cook the fish. I’ve done this a dozen times right here on Fire Island. Delish.  

The limes are what the Mexicans use to season tlalpeno, their hearty, spicy chicken and rice soup. I think it’s an Aztec word, I have trouble pronouncing it. Cooked chicken is fork shredded into a rich chicken broth seasoned with Mexican rice, chilies and lime. I’ll tell you about that later.

 

Ceviche:

But first you have to try ceviche. Use an equal amount of two kinds of seafood. I used shrimp and snapper. You can use catfish, scallops, anything as long as it has texture and contrasts with the shrimp which are almost always in the recipe. As one who dislikes catfish, I was amazed how delicious it is in this preparation. Tradition is you use two kinds of fish. Cut the fish into strips half an inch long and 1 cm wide. I cut the shrimps in half then in half again so as to give the shrimp as much surface as needed for the lime juice to cook it. You know it’s done when it becomes opaque. Taste it to check doneness to your own taste.

Safe method: This is not used in Mexico, but it will kill any live pathogens on the surface of the fish. It will make you feel safe about eating raw fish. Boil a pot of water. Meanwhile rinse the cut up seafood, and have it ready to go into the boiling water and come right back out again in less than half a minute. Just in and out. Then they go right into ice cold water to stop the cooking. Then drain, pat, dry, and submerge in freshly squeezed lime juice for an hour or so in the fridge. You do not want the fish to cook at all in the boiling water. Your strainer is your friend.

Practice this in your mind, and have everything ready before you plunge the seafood into the boil. I rarely do the boiling thing, since I use the very freshest fish.

In around an hour or so, the fish will turn whiter and opaque indicating it’s done. Taste it to be sure it’s “cooked.” Drain off the juice leaving a few tablespoons. Chop up some cilantro or flat parsley. Slice a red pepper, chop it into tiny dice. Get a jalapeño or poblano green chili. Remove the seeds. Slice it into the thinnest slivers and mince, using only the smallest amount to suit your taste. You can always add more. Add some minced red onion and some diced ripe tomato. Season with salt, ground pepper, a tablespoon of red vinegar and a scant teaspoon of sugar. Sugar horrifies my Mexican friends, well some of them. I like to add a tablespoon or two of orange juice concentrate, and a glug of green olive oil. An hour later, if you can wait, you’ll be in heaven. I serve this on Boston lettuce and a few slices of avocado. Please remember, the basics are always subject to change. You’re in charge of your kitchen.  

 

Sopa tlalpeno: 

Despite what it seems, this is a summer soup. Make the broth with one bone-in chicken thigh per cup of strong chicken stock. Add half a head of garlic, and half a medium onion, chopped.  Simmer the chicken until it is done. Remove to a plate to cool down. When the broth cools, remove the fat from the surface. Season the broth with salt, pepper, some ground cumin, coriander, a generous pinch of ground ancho chili and a few tablespoons of Mexican Rice, similar to Spanish rice but better. Cook at low heat until the rice breaks up. Remove and discard skin and bones, pull it apart with your hands or two forks into strands. Add the chicken to the soup, return to a simmer, and serve with lime slices on the side.  

On making soup: Things change fast so you need to taste often. Each time consider what the broth needs, and add it slowly, not all at once. Give the additional flavors time to ease their way into the soup. This is equally true for making sauce. This soup wants to be chicken rich, semi-spicy, just enough salt, and tart from the lime juice. Drinks: Sauvignon Blanc, or top shelf margaritas on the rocks.

 

Mexican Rice:

1 cup long grain white rice, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

1 1/2 cups chicken broth, 1/2 onion, finely chopped 

1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped, one fresh jalapeño pepper, chopped, one tomato, seeded and chopped, one cube chicken bouillon, salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, two cloves garlic, halved. 

Directions: In a medium sauce pan, cook rice in oil over medium heat for about three minutes. Pour in chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Stir in onion, green pepper, jalapeño, and diced tomato. Season with a bouillon cube, S&P, cumin, cilantro, and garlic. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to lowest. Cook for 20 minutes. Set aside and add enough as you like to the soup. 

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