Sea Bass Ceviche with Passion Fruit, Lime and Red Chilli

⏱ 25 min · Serves 4

Silky ribbons of sea bass bathed in a tart passion fruit and lime tiger's milk, sparked with red chilli, red onion and coriander. Ten minutes of curing, zero cooking, and it lands on the table looking like it cost a fortune.

Per serving: 248 kcal · 23.0g protein · 10.0g carbs · 13.0g fat

Ingredients

• 400g very fresh sea bass fillets, skinned and pin-boned
• 4 ripe passion fruit
• 4 limes, juiced (about 100ml)
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced paper-thin
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed to a paste
• 1 tsp caster sugar (optional, to balance)
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt, plus extra
• 1 small ripe avocado, diced
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp toasted black sesame seeds or crushed corn nuts, to finish

Method

1. Put the sliced red onion in a bowl of ice water for 10 minutes to crisp and mellow, then drain well on kitchen paper.
2. Halve the passion fruit and scoop the pulp into a sieve set over a bowl. Press through to get the juice, reserving 1 tbsp of the seeds for garnish.
3. Whisk the passion fruit juice with the lime juice, garlic, half the chilli, the salt and the sugar if using. Taste: it should be sharp, fruity and faintly hot. Chill this tiger's milk until ready.
4. Slice the sea bass across the fillet into 3-4mm sashimi-thin slices with a very sharp knife. Keep it cold.
5. Five to ten minutes before serving, lay the fish in a wide chilled bowl, pour over the tiger's milk and turn gently. The edges will turn opaque; don't leave it longer or it goes chalky.
6. Spoon the fish and plenty of its liquor onto chilled plates. Scatter over the drained onion, diced avocado, remaining chilli, coriander and the reserved passion fruit seeds.
7. Drizzle with olive oil, finish with sesame seeds or crushed corn nuts and a pinch of flaky salt. Serve immediately.