Leche de Tigre, Salmon Cabiche with Andina's Hank Costello

Welcome back to Chef in the Kitchen, a recurring Eater photo feature where we boldly go where few diners have gone before — into Portland restaurant kitchens — to get a sneak peek of the chef du jour hard at work.

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[Photography by Dina Avila]

In ceviches (raw fish usually marinated in citrus), the seafood at the center is usually the star — but for chef Hank Costello, of the Pearl's always-hopping Peruvian spot Andina, it's the details in the "leche de tigre" marinade that make all the difference. For Costello's cebiche de salmon con albaricoque dish, the chef combines lime juice, ginger, garlic, onion, jalepeno, celery, and cilantro in a blender along with some bits of salmon, salt, and water, blending — then straining — the mixture to create the "tiger's milk" marinade. Costello then fabricates a piece of fresh salmon, dicing the salmon and adding habañero, onions, candied ginger, and dried apricots in a bowl. After loosely mixing those ingredients, the leche de tigre is added along with some apricot puree. The ceviche is then plated along with a pickled cucumber wrap and garnished with lettuce, candied ginger, and cooked disks of corn and yam.

Related: Is leche de tigre more fun to make with Le Tigre playing in the background? Probably.
· Andina [Official site]
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