Ceviche is considered Peru's national dish. Diana Nu ez de Smolij, who is Peruvian and now living in Ecuador, sent me the following information on the history of Ceviche: There is a theory that pre-Hispanic peoples cooked fish with a fruit called tumbo.. The Inca's ate salted fish and a chicha-marinated fish dish.The Spanish contributed the Mediterranean custom of using lemons and onions. There are other historians that believe that Ceviche's origin is Arabian, imported to Peru by Arabian immigrants and re-interpreted by the Peruvians of the coastal areas.he preparation and consumption of ceviche is practically a religion in parts of Mexico, Central, and South America, and it seems as though there are as many varieties of ceviche as people who eat it. Latin American flavors first found a place on Florida menus with South Florida's New World Cuisine in the late 1980's.