Fish with cucumber in garlic-lime sauce

Serves 1 person

1/3 cup bite-size pieces of mahi-mahi (or any other firm white fish)
Salted water

1 tablespoon roughly chopped onion
1 teaspoon roughly chopped garlic
5 roughly chopped cilantro stems
1 bird’s eye (Thai) chiles, stem removed
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup thinly julienned unpeeled, seeded cucumber
1 tablespoon thinly julienned red bell pepper
1 tablespoon thinly julienned green bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves

Adorno (Garnish)
Cilantro sprigs

1.         Blanch the fish in salted hot water until opaque, about 2 minutes. Remove from the water and chill immediately in the refrigerator to keep it from cooking further.

2.         With a mortar and pestle, gradually pound the onion, garlic, cilantro stems, and chile to a fine paste. Add the lime juice, oil, and seasonings and stir with the pestle to form a saucy mixture. (Or purée the mixture in a blender or food processor.)

3.         In a medium non-reactive bowl, combine the fish, sauce, cucumber, bell peppers, and cilantro leaves. Using a soft spatula, mix gently with folding strokes, taking care not to break the fish. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.