OP: La Mar Cebicheria

Catapulta, Buenos Aires, 2024. Hardcover. Near Fine. First printing.

Astonishingly few books on Peru have graced our shelves over the years, but of those that have, many were written by chef, restaurateur, and champion of his country’s diverse and nuanced traditions, Gastón Acurio (1967– ).

In 2024 Acurio published this attractively designed book dedicated to his ceviche restaurant, La Mar Cebichería, which has outposts around the world. Twenty or so ceviche and tiradito recipes open the book with a range reflective of both Peru’s and Acurio’s culinary depth. There’s the classic ceviche with leche de tigre; a Nikkei variation with soy sauce, ginger, tamarind, turnip, nori, and avocado; or a vegan option with mushrooms, radishes, chilis, and a vegetarian interpretation of leche de tigre.

Tiradito, a raw dish in which the fish is sliced rather than diced, appears in increasingly elaborate presentations which effectively reveal the creative interplay between native Peruvian traditions and those of the Japanese immigrants who have had roots there for more than a century.

But the seafood dishes do not stop with raw preparations. A street food-appropriate medley of fish chicharrones or a fine dining restaurant-worthy dish of grilled grouper collar smothered in aji amarillo sauce are exciting and enticing options for whatever occasion arises.

We’re pleased to offer a Near Fine first printing, published in Spanish only.