Chef's Spotlight >Todd Mullins: Machu Picchu
Photo by Keith Ferris

Ceviche Mixto

INGREDIENTS
1/2 Lb. Pollock, uncooked, cut in 3/4-inch cubes
3 Shrimp, cooked and peeled with tail on
2 Whole Squid, sliced
½ Onion, sliced
Juice of 3 Limes
½ Tsp. Fresh Ginger, chopped
½ Tsp. Garlic, minced
½ Tsp. Salt
½ Tsp. White Pepper
½ Sweet Potato
½ Potato
2 Lettuce Leaves for garnish

METHOD
1. Boil squid 20-3- minutes, until tender.
Add fish, shrimp, and squid with juice of three limes.

2. Marinate fish, shrimp, and squid in lime juice for 30 minutes.

3. In separate bowl, mix ginger, garlic, salt, cilantro, and white pepper.

4. Peel and boil potato and sweet potato until fork tender.

5. Add the seafood and marinade to the spice mixture and mix thoroughly.

6. Place lettuce leaves on medium-sized plate.
Take mixed fish/spice mixture and center on plate.
Add sliced onions on top. Pour any remaining juices on top of ceviche.
Arrange potato and sweet potato on the side of the ceviche.

Ceviche Mixto is an appetizer for two.

Though the birthplace of ceviche is disputed between Peru and Ecuador, there’s no contestation of the interesting legends surrounding the marinated fish dish. One theory holds that the Spanish picked up the dish from the Incans, who ate fish with a fruit called tumbo. The Spanish contributed the Mediterranean custom of using lime and onions. Other food historians believe that ceviche’s origin is Arabian, imported to Peru by Arabian immigrants and re-interpreted by Peruvians. One last—almost definitely apocryphal—version of the story claims that some English speakers, who watched coastal fishermen eating their catch directly from the sea with salt and lemons, said “See the beach.” As this was a phrase the locals could not repeat well, it degraded to “ceviche”.

Disputed origin or not, ceviche is the Peruvian national dish and one of the highlights at Machu Picchu, a family-owned Peruvian restaurant in Newburgh that’s been in operation since 1990. Machu Picchu serves one menu all day, from tacu tacu, a traditional Peruvian breakfast made with garlic, diced tomatoes, onions, and rice and beans (side of steak and eggs optional) to pescado a lo macho, a diced seafood medley served over pollack filet and yucca. Other entrees include: arroz chaufa de maricos (Peruvian-style fried rice with calamari, fish and shrimp), carapulcra (marinated chicken in Peruvian sauce), and cau-cau (a favorite Peruvian dish of tripe, potato, and peas and carrots over rice). Another big seller (especially for take-out) is Machu Picchu’s whole rotisserie chicken—supposedly cooked with seasonings handed down from the Incas. Machu Picchu also serves a selection of Peruvian beer and wine, in addition to imported and domestic wine and beer.

MACHUPICCHU
301BROADWAY,NEWBURGH.(845)562-6478
OPENMONDAY,WEDNESDAY,THURSDAY,SUNDAY:10AM-10PM
FRIDAY&SATURDAY:10AM-12AM•CLOSEDTUESDAYS
WWW.MACHUPICCHUPERUVIANREST.COM