InTheBite

Galápagos: The Art of Ceviche at The Lobster Shack

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During InTheBite’s recent trip to the Galápagos Islands, we were treated to an inside look at how Sous Chef Raquel Mora makes ceviche at the Lobster Shack, located at the Galápagos Planet Hotel. Manager Juan Kayser gives a step-by-step tutorial of how to make the ceviche taste like it just came from Ecuador.

Galápagos Ceviche

The productive waters surrounding the coast of Ecuador impart to the region a long and robust history when it comes to ceviche. Galapwonder’s Juan Xavier Kaiser and chefs from the Lobster Shack at the Galápagos Planet Hotel on Isla San Cristobal demonstrate their take on Ecuadorian ceviche.

The recipe incorporates a secret ingredient that smooths the tartness of the limes used to cook the dorado. It’s a quick and easy recipe—one that will surely keep them coming back for more. When you decide to make it, be sure you make enough (because your boat guests will inhale it).

Prep time: 3 minutes, followed by 30 minutes in the fridge.

Ingredients:
 Fresh dorado, cut into one-inch cubes
 Lime juice
 Minced red onion
 Chopped green bell pepper
 Diced red tomatoes
 Salt & pepper
 Cilantro
 Unflavored Carbonated water (key ingredient)
 Olive oil or vegetable oil

Keep in mind the order in which the ingredients are added will insure a consistent blend of flavors.

Place the fish in a glass pan or bowl and pour just enough lime juice to cover the fish. Next, add salt and stir. Add enough salt to flavor all of the fish (you can always add more later, if it’s not salty enough). Next, add minced red onion and stir.

Key to recipe flavor: Add carbonated water to cover fish and onions. The soda water will begin to foam, neutralizing some of the acidity of the lime juice. Next, add some fresh bell pepper and stir. Add diced tomatoes and stir. The onions, bell pepper and tomatoes should be in roughly equal portions.

Now add a handful of cilantro and stir. Finally, add olive or vegetable oil to bring all the ingredients together, stir. Refrigerate for a minimum of half-hour and serve. In Ecuador, it is common to eat ceviche with plantain chips or popcorn.

If you are going fishing in a place where you’re likely to catch dorado, you can prepare all of the ingredients and make ceviche on the boat. Just be sure to keep the lime juice and carbonated water separate from the dry ingredients until you incorporate everything together.

For more info on traveling to Galapwonder, Ceviches recipe or anything else send us a message.

Chef Andi Bell’s Take on Wahoo

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Nobody has ever been disappointed to catch a wahoo.

Even a marlin tournament crew can take solace that the wahoo they caught, even if it were not a marlin, still makes a hell of an excuse to fi re up the grill. Wahoo are found far and wide and wherever they are caught people like to eat them.

What follows is Chef Andi Bell’s take on preparing wahoo. Bell is the executive chef at Boshamps Seafood and Oyster House in Destin, Florida. Located in Destin Harbor, Boshamps is not only a Gulf Coast landmark, but occupies a place of prominence on the fishing landscape. Home to the Flathead Classic Cobia Tournament and frequented by the who’s who of the Gulf Coast tournament crowd, Boshamps is exposed to its share of fresh seafood – including wahoo.

Bell’s Gulf to Table Culinary philosophy produces some remarkable cuisine. When it comes to cooking wahoo, Bell recommends two methods: grilling and pan roasting.

Chef Andi Bell’s Grilled Wahoo

“Grilling might be the best way to cook wahoo aside from maybe pan roasting it,” Bell explains. “You want to cook it medium-rare to medium so that it doesn’t dry out. You want to cook it over high heat for a short amount of time.”

How to Make it Happen:

1. Lightly brush wahoo steaks or fillets with olive oil.

2. Season with salt and pepper (“That’s all I ever use to season wahoo,” Bell says.)

3. Cook over the hot part of the grill without allowing the fish to catch fire. Cook 4-5 minutes per side.

Pan Roasted Wahoo

Bell’s other go-to method for fulfilling wahoo’s culinary potential is to pan roast it. This method is a straight forward one as well. Just make sure that the pan that you use doesn’t have a plastic handle and can be placed in a hot oven.

1. Add olive oil to a sauté pan/skillet.

2. On the stove, place the pan on high heat until the olive oil just begins to smoke.

3. Add seasoned wahoo to the pan (Bell seasons his with a little bit of salt and pepper).

4. Let the fish brown until the fillet begins to turn opaque.

5. Flip the fish, remove from heat and place the skillet in an oven heated to 400 degrees.

6. Allow the wahoo to finish cooking in the oven for 10 minutes. Once you have your wahoo cooked the way you like it, Bell recommends a couple of varieties of sauce. His go-to for grilled wahoo is lemon butter sauce. This is something that he prepares daily in the restaurant and always has on hand.

An aerial view of Boshamps in Destin Harbor. The crossover between great seafood and sportfishing is clearly evident.

Lemon Butter Sauce for Grilled Wahoo

1. Place a cup of heavy cream in a saucepan or small pot.

2. Cut three lemons in half. Drop the lemon halves into the cream.

3. Cook cream and lemons over medium heat until it thickens. When the cream reduces by half, you are good to go.

4. Remove the lemon halves.

5. Add two pounds of butter, cut into two-inch pieces. Whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time so it doesn’t break. Cook it until all of the butter melts.

6. Pour over wahoo….

If you are feeling ambitious, Chef Bell provides a couple more sauce recipes that require a bit more skill to prepare. Getting them right will make you a wahoo hero.

Boshamps’ Whiskey Tartar Sauce

• 2 cups Duke’s mayonnaise.
• 1 cup chopped bread- and-butter pickles.
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley.
• 3 tbsp. chopped green onion, both white and green parts.
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon.
• 2 tsp. whole-grain Dijon mustard.
• 1 heaping tbsp. finely chopped garlic.
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce.
• 1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce.
• 2 oz. whiskey.
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt.
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper.

Mix together and use as a dip or garnish for wahoo or other seafood favorites.

Want to sample Chef Andi’s handywork? Pull up a chair at Boshamps.

Vidalia Onion Jam

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil.
• 3 large sweet onions cut into 1/4-inch dice.
• 2 parsley sprigs.
• 2 bay leaves.
• 1 rosemary sprig.
• 1 cup sugar.
• 3/4 cup white balsamic vinegar.

How to Make It:

• In a large pot, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
• Tie the parsley, bay leaves and rosemary together with kitchen twine. Add the herb bundle to the diced onions and cook over low heat, stirring a few times, until fragrant, about three minutes. Sprinkle the sugar over the onions and cook, without stirring, until the sugar melts, about five minutes. Increase the heat to high and cook, without stirring, until an amber-brown caramel forms, about six minutes. Stir in the white balsamic vinegar and simmer over low heat, stirring a few times, until the jam is thick, about five minutes. Discard the herb bundle. Season the jam with salt and let cool to warm.

Next time you catch a wahoo, try one of these recipes. You will not be disappointed.