Chickpea Aguachile

Palm Heights in Grand Cayman, a place I’ve written about before, is one of my favorites, and the food is a big reason why.

I love their Coconut Aguachile (pictured below); it’s just the kind of light, cooling dish I like to eat beachside. Raw coconut, subbed in for fish, gets tossed with cucumber, avocado, cilantro, red onion, and plenty of lime and some kind of green chili.

Elsewhere on their menu, a more traditional fish ceviche included sweet potato, a brilliant addition to the dish that offered sweetness and an unexpected (but enjoyable) texture. These dishes got me thinking about the flexibility of these traditional recipes, an opportunity to explore vegetables in a new light. And they were a reminder that great Mexican food is so much more complex than what most Americans are accustomed to eating.

This was all brought back to mind last week in Santa Fe (my guide to the city is coming your way on Friday). I returned to Paloma, a restaurant I had visited a couple of years ago, and I remembered loving.

On this trip, we ate at Paloma two nights in a row. Although it veers from the traditional New Mexican culinary map into more straightforward Mexican, it is my favorite restaurant in Santa Fe. It offers a lighter eating experience and a deft hand with vegetables. (Plus: the best Margarita in town.)

On both visits, we ordered a Chickpea Aguachile, pictured below.

What a thing of beauty!

In their version, chickpeas were tossed in a piquant sauce fortified with white miso, and topped with cucumber, radish, cilantro, pickled red onion, and a surprising addition of gooseberries. Eating it at Paloma, I knew I would set about recreating it at home and sharing my version with you.