Avocado-Wrapped Ceviche w/ Tomato Pearls & Lemon/Lime Air

Ingredients

Avocado-Wrapped Ceviche

  • 4-5 oz red snapper
  • juice of 2 lemons and 2 limes
  • 1 diced shallot
  • ΒΌ chopped green chili
  • 1 tbsp diced cilantro
  • 1 avocado

Tomato Pearls

  • 1 cup tomato juice (250 g)
  • 2 g Algin (a natural product extracted from brown algae used for spherification)
  • 2.5 g Calcic (a calcium salt used in reaction with Algin that produces spherification)
  • 2-¼ Cups of Water

Lemon/Lime Air

  • 250 g lemon and lime juice
  • 250 g of water
  • 1.5 g of Lecite (a natural soy letcithin-based emulsifier used for converting liquids into airs)

How-to

*The ingredients for the molecular gastronomy aspects of the dish are in grams, since precise measurements are required for the reactions. Use a scale to measure.

Make the Ceviche

  1. Filet the red snapper, cut into small pieces and place the fish in a bowl with the lemon and lime juice
  2. Let the fish marinate for 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator until the fish turns white. Remove the fish from the bowl and rinse
  3. Place the fish in a new bowl and mix with the shallot, chili and cilantro. Season with salt. Mix well

Wrap the Ceviche in Avocado Slices

  1. Peel the avocados using Chris' handy quartering technique (watch the video)
  2. Apply plastic wrap to your work surface and peel off thin, uniform avocado slices onto the middle of the wrap using a vegetable peeler (about 8 slices slightly overlapping each other)
  3. Place your ceviche across the middle of the avocado slices, leaving room to roll it up inside the avocado
  4. Use the plastic wrap to peel the avocado off the wrap and roll it over the fish, making a ceviche roll (similar to a sushi roll)

Make the Tomato Pearls

  1. Mix 1/3 of the tomato juice into a bowl and mix with the Algin. Puree the Algin until it’s completely blended. Add the remaining the tomato juice
  2. Let the mixture rest in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes so that the air bubbles will recede
  3. Mix the Calcium with the water. Fill up a cooking syringe and drop the tomato juice into the Calcicum/water mixture. Let the pearls set for a minute in the mixture
  4. Using a slotted spoon, place the pearls in a bowl of water. When you’re ready to serve, remove them from the bowl

Make the Lemon/Lime Air

  1. Mix the lemon and lime juice, water and Lecite into a bowl and mix well using an immersion blender so that bubbles form
  2. Spoon above the surface of the liquid and place the foam on the plate when read to serve

Put it All Together

  1. Plate the roll, add the tomato pearls using the slotted spoon and scoop some lemon/lime air onto the ceviche
  2. Garnish with some micro greens or regular greens