Tiradito with Chilean sea bass, or: how I tried to get over some food guilt.

Chilean sea bass tiradito

[Ed: I’m trying to write some shorter posts to get me in the habit of writing much more regularly. So we’ll see how this goes.]

Chilean sea bass is not a fish that comes to our kitchen often, mainly because it’s both expensive and generally believed to be horribly overfished. The latter point might not be as troublesome as I had previously thought, though, because apparently measures have been taken to atone for overfishing and there are now viable options that are considered good choices. So I now feel slightly less guilty over succumbing to the temptation of buying Chilean sea bass (that was on sale!) last weekend in order to make this tiradito from The Family Meal.

Honestly, this method of “cooking” the fish is actually kind of perfect for a splurge fish purchase, because you don’t need to buy much of it, and you really don’t cook it for long at all. Unlike a ceviche that needs time to marinate in citrus juice, the slices of fish start turning opaque the second the lime dressing hits them so you can easily pull this together as an elegant appetizer within an hour’s time. I’m going to experiment some more with this as the weather warms up in the hopes of finding a less-expensive fish that works just as well, because not only is it perfect for an oppressively hot summer evening, but with the cost of limes being what they are I should find some way to make this more economical.

If suddenly the supply in scallions goes awry, I know I’m screwed.

Chilean Sea Bass Tiradito

Adapted from The Family Meal

Serves 2-4 as an appetizer

• Half a pound of Chilean sea bass, skinned
• Juice of two limes
• ½ cup of olive oil
• 1 small bunch of scallions, root ends trimmed, just white and light green parts (save the green tops for another recipe, like say ginger scallion sauce)
• Finely chopped cilantro to garnish
• Coarse or flaky sea salt

Thinly slice the fish and arrange on a serving dish, not letting them overlap too much. Let chill for at least 30 minutes prior to serving.

Right before serving, make the dressing: thinly julienne the scallions and set aside. Make the dressing by whisking together the lime juice and the olive oil (add a little salt if desired) until cloudy. Add in the scallions and toss well in the dressing to coat. When ready to serve, take the fish out of the fridge, scatter the scallions over the fish, and then add the rest of the dressing on all of the slices and top with cilantro.