Recipe: Maryland Rockfish (Striped Bass) Ceviche

When we're lucky enough to have fresh rockfish around - which means
Cooper's lucky enough to have recently been fishing AND caught some fish -
we usually go the traditional preparation route. Olive oil, herbs, lemon,
maybe a little butter, salt and pepper, followed by a few minutes on the grill. It's foolproof.

Courtesy of our friend Clancy, who a) took Cooper fishing a few weeks ago and
b) gave us the fish he caught, since he gets to go out whenever he wants. So nice!

But last weekend, Cooper and his friends had a pretty big day on the water.
As a result, we've got a ton of fish in the refrigerator.
We'll smoke some and give some away, but since the fish was so fresh,
the first thing we did was make a ceviche:

How festive does that look?

It was really so simple to make. Before starting, I read a handful of recipes online,
picking and choosing what I liked. The end result was fresh and bright -
an ideal summer appetizer.

Here's the recipe:

Maryland Rockfish (Wild Striped Bass) Ceviche

(Serves 6 as an appetizer; Takes about 30 minutes of active prep,

plus 2 1/2 hours of resting for the fish)

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh rockfish fillet, skinned 
• 10 limes, juiced
• 1 orange, juiced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 a red onion, finely chopped
• 2 smallish jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons red pepper, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons green pepper, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons yellow or orange pepper, finely chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, stems removed, finely chopped
• A small handful of heirloom cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
• Olive oil
• 2 ripe avocados cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• Salt
• Tortilla chips

1. Cut the rockfish into bite-sized cubes, about 1/2 on each side.

2. Place the fish in a bowl or glass 13x9 pan and cover with the juice of the limes, orange and lemon.

3. Refrigerate for about 2 1/2 hours, until fish is firm and opaque.

4. Mix the garlic, onion, peppers, cilantro and tomato in a large bowl. Top with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and mix to coat.

5. Add the fish to the vegetable mixture, along with 1 to 2 tablepoons of the citrus. Discard the rest of the citrus.

6. Add the avocado to the mixture and season with salt (about 2 teaspoons will do). Mix carefully to combine.

7. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping.