Ceviche is a popular seafood dish along the coasts of Latin America that Alex Porras, owner of POME, makes and sells at the Cabrini Farmers Market, 2211 Texas Avenue, every Saturday.
"I was born in Central America. I was brought up eating it,” said Porras who comes from Guatemala. He added that it’s a popular dish there and can be bought just about anywhere. Many restaurants called cevichitas sell it.
Central America is between both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, so they have a variety of seafood available.
“There are several ways you can make save each. The base is lime juice. I make the traditional Guatemalan ceviche which is you marinate the fish in lime juice. And then you season it with salt, pepper,” he said.
Even Tony Chachere’s can be used to season it, he added.
“And then it's got the onions, cilantro and tomatoes. You let them marinate overnight, so the acidity in the lime pretty much cooks the fish,” said Porras. “And so that's the traditional one.”
Then there’s the Peruvian style that doesn’t have cilantro or tomatoes.
“I make it with jalapenos and red onions,” he said. “You pickle the red onions and mix it all together.”
Porras said the further south you travel along the coast, you’ll find ceviche made with a variety of seafood. In Mexican beach resorts, he said they can put all kinds of things in it like octopus and scallops. And even non-seafood meat like lamb is added.
“It gets very rare. It's called mixto, which is mixed,” he explained.
On this particular Saturday, Porras is selling fish ceviche.
“Today I have fish, and I use tilapia. I try to use a mild-tasting fish,” he said. “Catfish is too strong, so you want it to be tilapia, redfish, grouper, bass.”
Sometimes he makes and sells the traditional shrimp ceviche.
Porras started selling ceviche at the Cabrini Farmers Market last summer after making it for family gatherings and other social events where people would tell him that if he sold it, they would buy it.
I just figured I would just try a small farmers market,” he said.
His idea is to grow his business so people could get used to the taste.
Some people get thrown off when he tells people about ceviche and what it is so he has little cups where people can sample it.
“I've had a lot of repeat customers because they tried it and they, I guess, get out of their comfort zone and tasted it,” he said. “I love that it is fresh,” said Ann Lowrey, one of Porras’ regular customers. “It’s a cool and refreshing option for lunch or dinner, especially now. It tastes amazing. I usually buy a couple of containers and eat it up within a couple of days.”
Porras has been surprised that so many people have liked it.
“Because it is an acquired taste if you have never had it before,” said Porras. “So that's what pushed me to come here to Cabrini and see where we're takes us.”
Some people have encouraged him to open a little restaurant and sell ceviche but he’s “still playing with that idea.”
“I just love cooking. I'm an amateur cook,” said Porras.
- The Cabrini Farmers Market is located at 2211 Texas Avenue in the St. Francis Cabrini Church parking lot. The market is open from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. every Saturday.
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