It makes sense that executive chef Marcel Heiduk of Venteux, the glitziest French brasserie and oyster bar on the Magnificent Mile, would recommend a fish dish when we asked him for a cost-efficient but still spectacular recipe.
Heiduk, from Kaiserslautern, Germany, began his career in kitchens at the age of 15 and worked as a line cook throughout his schooling. Before coming to Venteux, Heiduk spent a few years in the farm-to-table restaurant Ulanen Hof in Saarbrücken, Germany and the Michelin-starred O in Maastricht, Netherlands, before coming to the U.S. — first to the upscale steakhouse Bull and Bourbon in San Diego, and then the James Beard Award-winning Lionfish in Delray Beach, Florida.
Since arriving in Chicago in 2022, Heiduk has specialized in a nouvelle French menu — which means a lot of fish. You’re going to want to stop by the restaurant and oyster bar for their Monday through Saturday happy hour (can you beat $2 oysters anywhere else in Chicago, let alone the Mag Mile?) and their gorgeous seafood displays — including the Venteux Tower, with oysters, mussels, clams, shrimp, lobster and king crab.
Chef Heiduk recommended something off the menu for an evening at home. For less than 10 percent the cost of a Venteux Tower, he suggests an easy to assemble, hard to screw up classic.
The following cod (or corvina) ceviche recipe comes in right around $10, depending on where you shop. As of this writing, it’s slightly more than $10 at Whole Foods and slightly less than $10 at Jewel. If you add the suggested tortilla chips, it’s more than $10. But the serving size is for two, bringing it to under $10 a plate regardless of the grocery store of your choosing. We did not factor in the cost of salt. We’re assuming you have salt.
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Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cod or corvina
- 1 avocado
- ½ red onion
- 1 serrano chili
- 4 limes
- 1 bunch cilantro
- salt
Directions
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Dice the fish in small cubes and salt the fish.
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Squeeze the limes and pour the juice over the fish. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
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Dice avocado and red onion. Chop cilantro and serrano pepper.
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Mix all ingredients together and serve chilled with tortilla chips on the side.
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