Did you know that the Olympic torch relay was first introduced during the 1936 Berlin Games? The Nazis saw it as a way to “connect” the Aryan race to classical Greece and its ideals; nowhere was this more eloquently put forth than in Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia (1938), a piece of propaganda that nevertheless remains one of the greatest motion pictures ever made. Is it any wonder people are fascinated by them to this day?
“But my son’s only ten!” a friend protests. “How can that be healthy?”
“You worry too much,” I say. “Give him three years and then all he’ll think about is sex. If not, then you have a problem.”
Okay, so I’m 45 and anything to do with Hitler I still find riveting. Does that mean something’s wrong with me? I hope not; I follow Ancient Aliens, too. You do not have to subscribe to something to be fascinated by it. I give you my version of fish kinilaw (Filipino-style ceviche), which I’m quite proud of, even obsessive about, despite the fact that I don’t eat it.
To prepare this one, I lay out thin slices of the freshest tanguigue (Spanish mackerel) on a bed of ginger strips and thinly-sliced red onion, ladle over some coconut cream thinned with cane vinegar (about 3:1, plus salt and a little sugar to taste), then garnish with heirloom tomatoes and whatever herbs and spices are available (dill, basil, mint, spring onion greens, finger chili, more ginger). Finally, the juice and grated zest of biasong, a must for Visayan kinilaw.
The dish comes together in a matter of minutes, faster if you’re not as arte as I am about plating. This makes for an elegant centerpiece to any meal or party, a perfect example of what Ina Garten calls an “assembly” plate. The one thing you need to be aware of is how people prefer their kinilaw: some like the fish “cooked” in the vinaigrette while others insist keeping it fresh until the last second — you may need to prepare a plate of each to cater to both tastes, it’s not like you’re confronted with Sophie’s choice, duh.
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