Have you ever tasted the essence of a country in a single bite? Peru is a country full of colors whose gastronomy is recognized and enjoyed worldwide. It is full of different traditional dishes with different flavors, and the Sole Ceviche is the perfect way to taste them all at once. Its combination of salt, spice, and lemon gives it a unique taste that dazzles you from the moment it reaches your tongue. From my abuelita Mercedes’s recipe, we hope to help you recreate this delicious, unique flavor from the Peruvian coast.

To give a small clue of what we’re going to make, this plate will include raw sole fish, lime, vegetables, and a hint of spice.

Step 1: Get Ingredients

For this special dish (2-3 servings), you will need:

2 fillets of sole fish (0.75-1 pound). *Note: These should be fresh.
8 limes, or enough to make at least ½ cup of lime juice
½ avocado
10-15 parsley leaves
½ tomato
¼ red onion
2 teaspoons of salt
1 serrano pepper
pepper (optional)

Step 2: Prepare Ingredients

Sole fish: Cut fish fillets in bite size cubes.
Red onion: Peel off papery layers of red onions and then cut it in thin layers. An easier way to start cutting it is to cut both the top and bottom of the onion to be left with the edible parts of the onion only. After this, start cutting it in thin layers parallel to your first two cuts. Finally, separate each of the inside layers of the pieces you have cut.
Lime: Get about 1/2 cup of lime juice. For us, this turned out to be about 8 limes, and the easier way to get the juice is to cut the limes in half and then squeeze until the lime is left with little to no juice to take advantage of each ingredient. It might be easier to squeeze it using a fork or a lime squeezer itself if available at the moment.
Parsley: Remove 10-15 parsley leaves from the stem and then cut into tiny pieces. The quantity really depends on the tastes of someone but we calculated that 10-15 leaves was a good way to start for the preparation of ceviche.
Serrano pepper: Cut the stalk (or the top, the little stem) of the Serrano pepper and deseed completely. Next, cut the pepper into tiny pieces.
Tomato: Cut tomato in small cubes.
Avocado: Cut one half (or as much as you want if an avocado lover) of the avocado in small cubes. The easiest way to do this is to cut the avocado in half first, then peel off the skin of the half without the seed, and finally cut it in small cubes.

Now you have all your ingredients ready to make the Ceviche!

Step 3: Mixing Fish, Lime, Salt, and Parsley

Although most of the ingredients are ready to consume, the fish still is NOT ready. As many may know already, eating raw fish can be very dangerous, as it may result in very serious illnesses or bacterias. In this recipe, we will not cook with heat but with lime, so that safely you can enjoy a sushi-like fish mixed with all the other ingredients. To avoid any repercussions while enjoying this delightful plate, it is essential that you follow these steps:

Add the fish, parsley, salt, and onion to a medium sized bowl.
Pour the lime juice and gently stir with a rubber spatula for about a minute or two to evenly cook
Let rest for about 15-30 min until the fish has turned fairly white (more than initially) to know when the fish is ready to be consumed.

Step 4: Add Rest of Ingredients

For our final step before tasting, we just have to add all of the ingredients not yet added

Add tomato cubes, Serrano pepper, and pepper.
Mix gently for 1-2 minutes.
Right before serving, add avocado cubes.

Step 5: Enjoy!

With these simple steps you now have all that it takes to make the best plate of South America. Not only is it easy to make, but also delicious, healthy, and nutritional. There is nothing better than eating a freshly made Ceviche to cool off a hot summer day. Our advice is to accompany it with a frozen lemonade or cold soda to stay fresh.

Thank you for reading this instructable! We hope you get to taste a bit of Peru by enjoying and sharing Ceviche with your family and friends.

Buen provecho!