Serves: 6

Leading up to Avalon’s (7 months as of today) birth, Nat and I talked of our first proper meal together. Being October, outside, put up the umbrella, Champagne and a slow afternoon of good food and baby talk.

Good times right.

I did a side of ocean trout over charcoal and a really aromatic Asian/South American salad, though we kicked it off with this tostada, a recipe I’d had in our worryingly big backlog of recipes to try.

Sure it’s simple and sure, Sydney has overdone kingfish ceviche to death the past few years, though what a great snack.

Just a lovely way to kick off a meal with a three-day-old and a glass of something French. And doesn’t it look the part!

(And 7-months later, Avalon has consistently remained the most happy, beautiful little girl and best-friend any father could ever hope for. And no, she is not named after the regional Victorian airport, and is instead a nod to the great Bryan Ferry and his greatest song of all time.)

Ingredients

400gm sashimi-grade kingfish, cut across the grain into 5mm slices
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
1/2 jalapeño, thinly sliced
Juice of 1/2 orange
1 tbsp olive oil (note: not extra virgin olive oil)
Juice of 2 limes
Vegetable oil for shallow-frying
6 – 8 small tortillas
1 large avocado, coarsely chopped
40gm sour cream
2 radishes, cut into julienne
1 c (loosely packed) coriander

Method

1. Combine kingfish, onion, jalapeño, orange juice, olive oil and half the lime juice in a bowl, season to taste and refrigerate for 15 minutes to marinate.
2. Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil (about 2cm deep) in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry tortillas one at a time, turning once, until golden and crisp (1 – 2 minutes each side). Transfer to a tray lined with paper towels. Season to taste with sea salt.
3. Process avocado, sour cream and remaining lime juice in a blender or food processor until smooth and season to taste. Spread tostadas with avocado cream, top with ceviche, radish and coriander, season to taste and serve.