Ceviche is a taste of Lima at Tanta in River North
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Ceviche is practically religion in Peru, where restaurants compete to get the freshest fish, serving it with a fair amount of lime juice and corn. But that unique style of preparation isn't limited to South America since a well-known Lima restaurant group has a branch right here in River North.
If Bobby Flay or Wolfgang Puck had an equal in Peru, it would undoubtedly be Gaston Acurio. The chef behind 46 restaurants in a dozen countries knows his ceviche. On a recent trip there, I was curious to see what similarities - and differences - exist between the ceviches they serve in Lima, and the ones we get at his Tanta restaurant in River North.
To watch the cooks behind the ceviche bar at La Mar - Acurio's restaurant in Lima's Miraflores District - is a study in balance. They work with the Pacific's freshest catches, like impressive cabrillo, conchas negras or black scallops and luscious sea urchin, but they use no heat. The key is fresh lime juice, which literally "cooks" the fish in minutes.
"The preparation of the ceviche just takes like two minutes or three, no more than that, because we do just to take out the acid and the juices but we don't want it to overcook," said Bruno Romero, one of the many cooks at La Mar Cebicheria.
Every dish has choclo - the enormous Peruvian corn kernels - plus red onions and aji limo, a hot chile that gets added to the mixing bowl, pressed on to release some of its heat, but then removed before serving.
"But I take this off because if I leave it a little longer, it could be more spicy," Romero said.
Every ceviche comes with a disc of cooked sweet potato, and when compared to the ceviche available at their sister restaurant Tanta, the finished dishes look a little bit different.
Jesus Delgado worked at La Mar before moving here to take over the kitchen at Tanta.
"There are some items we flew directly from Lima, something that cannot be replaced like the Peruvian choclo; the Peruvian chiles - rocoto, aji limo, aji Amarillo - all those items we flew in specifically for our restaurant," said Tanta General Manager Tomy Lokvicic.
Fresh habaneros might be used in Chicago, and instead of cabrillo, thick, white-fleshed fluke or mahi mahi. But everything else remains the same, even the leche de tigre, or juice that comes off of the citrus marinated fish, plus red onions and sweet potatoes. Even though the limes might be different, they still provide the right acidity to cook the fish.
"We can't replace the limes we use in Lima, unfortunately, but we use those high acid limes they come from Mexico or California," Lokvicic said.
La Mar Cebicheria
Av Mariscal La Mar 770, Miraflores 15074, Peru
Phone:+51 1 4213365
http://www.lamarcebicheria.com/lima/
Tanta
118 W. Grand Ave.
(312) 222-9700
