Making Ceviche with Joe Gurrera of Citarella

This summer, we partnered with Citarella to inspire your next BBQ with cooking demos at Related buildings across the city. Joe Gurrera, Citarella’s Owner and Original Fishmonger, demonstrates recipes straight from his debut cookbook, "Joe Knows Fish." To find the freshest ingredients, visit Citarella’s newest location in Hudson Yards.

For the first installment in the series, residents headed to Abington House for a special night of cooking, ceviche and wine with Gurrera. After a delicious tasting of Prosecco, guests gathered around as Gurrera breezily filleted a cut of branzino, while explaining why ceviche is such a simple, but delicious summer food that no one should be intimidated to cook.

joe gurrera of Citarella's

The original title of his cookbook, he explained, was actually “Taking the Intimidation Out of Fish,” (his wife, his publisher and nearly everyone else involved talked him out of it), but the spirit of the title lives on in the content of the book, where he explains in easy-to-follow steps how to prepare fish dishes, and even shows photos of what kind of filet to buy at the market before you cook it.

“I want to make it simple; I want people to be friendly with fish, I don’t want anyone to be afraid,” he explained.

The cooking demo

After the quick demonstration – it’s an easy dish! – guests chatted to Joe about his thoughts on everything from how he feels about farmed fishing (supports it – as long as you do research on the farm), to what “sushi-quality” fish really means (in theory, it means fish that can be eaten raw, but be wary of stores that point to only one fish they call “sushi-quality”).

Joe prepares the fish

Then of course, it was time for the tasting, which Citarella’s Wine and Spirits Director Michael Acheson paired with a surprising Saar Kabinett Riesling, which he described as having notes of “sweetness with key lime and almost pineapple on the finish,” which helps “accelerate all the flavors of the dish and make them stand out.”

Guests also entered their names into a lottery, and 15 lucky winners took a copy of “Joe Knows Fish” home with them.

A winner of "Joe Knows Fish"

The recipe for the ceviche is below, but if you’re still too intimidated to make it, you can pick it up at Citarella’s newest location at Hudson Yards, where they also have opened a new wine and spirits store. Happy cooking!

The ceviche

Guests enjoy the ceviche

Joe's Ceviche

Serves 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ready In: 1 hr 20 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ pound raw sea scallops cut into ½-inch pieces
• ½ pound raw large shrimp (16 to 20 per pound) peeled, deveined, and cut into ½-inch pieces
• ½ pound skinless fluke or skinless striped bass fillet cut into ½-inch pieces
• 2 plum tomatoes seeded and pulp discarded, cut into ¼-inch dice (about ½ cup)
• 1 small yellow onion cut into ¼-inch dice
• 1-2 jalapeño peppers seeded and finely chopped
• Sea salt to taste
• ½ cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
• 1½ cups freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 10 limes), plus more as needed
• White rice for serving (optional)
• 2 ripe avocados peeled, pitted, and sliced, for garnish

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the scallops, shrimp, fluke, tomatoes, onion, and jalapeños, to taste, and toss to combine. Sprinkle with a few generous pinches of salt and cilantro and toss again. Pour the lime juice over the mixture, making sure the mixture is completely covered by the liquid. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Use a slotted spoon to serve as is or over white rice. Garnish with avocado.

Bonus: Citarella's Wine and Spirits Director Michael Acheson recommends pairing this ceviche with a nice Riesling, which you can pick up at their store at Hudson Yards.

“Joe’s Ultimate Ceviche is an ideal summer dish, bursting with fresh fish flavor and bright acidity. The Von Hövel 2017 “Saar” Riesling is a perfect pairing, with enough zip to keep up with all that citrus, and the slightest hint of sweetness at the end to round out the palate. "

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