Ceviche with Toasted Coconut and Coconut Foam

► by Head Chef Andrés Melo of Brutto Beach House

If you ask Head Chef Andrés Melo how he ended up in Aruba, he’ll tell you he followed the opportunities afforded to him.

^{— Photography Kenneth Theysen}

Melo began his most recent journey toward Juan E. Irausquin Blvd. 374, Noord—where you can find Brutto Beach House, Lucca Modern Trattoria, and The Office Night Club—at Brutto in Panama, and ultimately was offered the chance to be a part of the team that shaped the restaurant hotspot in Aruba. “Why not?”, he offers as the reason why he made the move. “You have a sense of pride when you start a project and you build it from the bottom up,” Melo says.

Melo hails from Venezuela where he stumbled into cooking by picking up a business card that belonged to the dean of the culinary institute in his home country. “That was the beginning of it,” Melo says. “Then I went to see the facilities and all the stuff. But I said ‘No’.” Melo recalls that about an hour later, he changed his mind, went back, and enrolled in the program. If you ask him what changed his mind in that short time between touring the facilities and enrolling, he’ll hit you with another “Why not?”.

When asked why he chose to share this ceviche recipe, he’ll tell you he chose it because, “It’s refreshing. It’s shareable,” and most importantly, “We’re in the Caribbean, so why not?”. It’s a bright, fragrant dish served with corn nuts and home-made chips, topped with a dollop of coconut foam.

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Ceviche with Toasted Coconut and Coconut Foam
Serves 2

                   

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Ingredients     

Ceviche

200g raw sea bass
20g passion fruit juice
30g lime juice
50g julienned red onion
16g julienned Aji Rojo pepper
6g cilantro

Coconut Foam

425ml coconut cream
2000ml coconut milk
500g cream
3 gelatin sheets

Ceviche

1. Cut the raw sea bass fillets into small cubes.

2. Add sea bass, red onion, Aji Rojo pepper, and cilantro to a small bowl. Mix gently until just combined.

3. Add passion fruit juice, lime juice, and salt to taste to mixture. Mix gently until the sea bass is coated in liquid. 

4. Plate, garnish, and serve immediately.

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Coconut Foam

1. Rehydrate gelatin sheets in cold water (or as per package instructions).

2. In a medium saucepan on low heat, mix gelatin, coconut cream, coconut milk,
   and cream.

3. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a large mixing bowl to remove any lumps. Let the mixture cool. Mix again with an electric mixer.

4. Pour liquid into a siphon to create culinary foam.

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Serve

1. Spoon ceviche mixture onto a serving dish.

2. Top with coconut foam and toasted coconut shavings.

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CHEF’S TIPS     

Chef Andrés Melo recommends serving ceviche immediately. “It’s not going to taste as fresh if you leave the fish marinating in the juices for a long period of time,” Melo says.

The coconut foam is optional since not every home cook has a siphon on hand. “The foam is pretty easy to make, but not everyone is willing to buy a siphon,” Melo says. Don’t be afraid of the cooking tool. Melo encourages home cooks to just “experiment with it.” To adopt the spirit of Melo’s philosophy: “Why not? ”.

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