Stirred - Not Shaken

Served in a martini glass, seviche cocktails are intoxicating on a warm summer night.

My son has become an avid fan of the James Bond movies, but since he is just 13, a lot of the social and cultural references are lost on him. He knows that James likes his vodka martini shaken, not stirred, with a twist of lemon. He just doesn't know what a martini is.

I'm not much for potent cocktails myself, but I am fascinated by a method of "cooking" seafood that relies on citrus rather than heat to transform seafood from raw to sublime. Seviche (or ceviche, or cebiche) uses the acidic quality of lemons and limes to rearrange the protein strands in fish and even shellfish, changing the color, texture and flavor in interesting ways. It is known as the national dish of Peru and is just as popular throughout the rest of South America and along the coastal regions of Mexico. There are as many versions of seviche as there are of pizza. The name is just a generic term for the method of preparation. The flavors are up to your imagination.

Here's a refreshing version - you can adjust the heat of the final dish by changing the type of pepper used. The Peruvians use something called aji amarillo, but I had to settle for serrano peppers.