Peruvian Ceviche

400g of either sea bass / lemon sole or snapper / pinboned / skinned and filleted - sustainably sourced,
1 red or yellow pepper - deseeded and finely chopped,
2 spring onions - trimmed and finely sliced,
juice of 3 lemons,
1 teaspoon sea salt,
1-2 fresh red chillies - deseeded and finely chopped,
8 sprigs of fresh mint - leaves picked,
8 sprigs of fresh coriander - leaves picked,
1 punnet of mustard cress,
a few fennel tops - leaves picked (optional),
extra virgin olive oil,
freshly ground black pepper

During my time in New York I got to visit all sorts of wonderful and fascinating places, and on one occasion I was lucky enough to be taken to an illegal Peruvian restaurant - it was great fun. This ceviche was on the menu that night. Ceviche is a lovely little appetizer of fresh fish marinated in citrus juices. As long as you've got mega fresh fish it's an absolute dream and delight to make and eat.

Cut your fish fillets into 1cm cubes. Put these into a bowl with your chopped peppers and spring onions, then cover and place in the fridge until you need them. In a separate bowl or a jam jar, mix together the lemon juice, salt and chilli, then pop the lid on and place in the fridge to chill too. This may seem like a lot of salt but most of it gets drained off.

Finally, wash and dry your herbs and cress and put them into the fridge as well.

You can assemble the ceviche just before your guests are ready to eat. It's important that you don't leave the fish marinating for too long - you don't want the acids in the juices to cook the fish. Pour the lemon dressing over the fish mixture and immediately mix it up. Leave it to sit for about 2½ minutes while you lay out the plates.

Throw most of your herb mixture into the bowl with the fish and very quickly toss it together - I'm talking no more than 10 seconds here. Divide the ceviche between your 4 plates, gently spoon over a little of the dressing (discarding the rest) and sprinkle with the rest of the herbs. Drizzle over some good-quality extra virgin olive oil from a height, sprinkle with some freshly ground black pepper, and enjoy.