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Thursday, June 14, 2007

Suddenly Ceviche

So it's not the prettiest concoction, but it's darned tasty. A few of us were joking around at work yesterday about who was bringing in food tomorrow (that is to say, today). "What's the occasion?" was a question thrown out there, and Sharon checked out her calendar and mentioned that it would be flag day. Also mentioned was the fact that our department had once had an all-finger-foods/appetizers potluck (I think I made cornmeal chili creampuffs or something for that one - they were more like biscuits, but started with a choux pastry). I thought about it over the rest of the day (since I had no actual motivation), and thought it might be fun to whip something up and bring it in for no reason.

So, while perusing Allrecipes.com, I ran across this recipe for ceviche and thought it looked really good. And I liked that it did not require any cooking (Caitlin - you can make this for Kyle over the summer and not have to turn on the oven!). I ran to the store and picked up the fresh veggies on my way home, and then got to choppin'. It was a success at work today, and I had 2 requests for recipes (1 from someone in another department that didn't even try it!).

Anyway, I decided that I would share it here. You can check out the original or you can check out what I actually did below. My editorial comments are in italics.

Shrimp Ceviche:

Ingredients -
1lb pre-peeled, deveined cooked salad shrimp (I opted for pre-cooked shrimp as it was easier to find, and I'm distrustful of the cooking by marinating method...)
5 limes, juiced
3 medium sized vine-ripened tomatoes
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
4 serrano peppers, seeded and minced (don't make the mistake I did. Wear gloves when handling/mincing these innocent looking suckers! I hardly ever eat spicy foods, and didn't actually realize that these were one of the hottest varieties... About an hour after mincing these, the fingertips and palm of my left hand started burning...and still are burning today!! Much worse after my shower tonight. But I read up on this online tonight, and ending up sitting in front of the TV for about 15 minutes with the affected digits in a cold container of yogurt to cut the capsaicin. I also popped a Benadryl. I'm not sure which one did the trick, but I'm not in pain at the moment. Thank God I didn't touch my eyes!! Okay, next ingredient.)
1 Avocado, diced
salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions:

1. Dice shrimp. Place into large bowl. (Most recipes I see for ceviche specify to use a glass bowl. I don't know if it needs to be glass, but I do know you want a non-reactive material...so steer clear of metal bowls.)

2. Squeeze (or pour) lime juice over shrimp until completely covered (you may need more or fewer limes, depending on the size of the limes. If using the uncooked shrimp, make sure all of the shrimp is immersed in juice. If using pre-cooked shrimp, this is less important).

3. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

4. When ready to serve, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. Serve with tostada shells or tortilla chips.

8 comments:

Orelinde_03 said...

Looks very yummy, and I shall try it. Perhaps this weekend.

Would you like to be a contributer on a recipe blog I am thinking of starting?

Kristin said...

Sounds good, did you clean your kitchen up after? :)

Anonymous said...

Tami,
It looks great. Can't wait for Cait and I to try it. How were those peppers in the dish?

Anonymous said...

Tami, Do you think you coulduse bell peppers instead? Do you think frozen shrip would be ok in it?

Tami said...

Rose - Sure I'll be a contributor to your recipe blog. I just can't promise too many recipes... If you still have my email address, feel free to contact me with info.

Kristin (or should I say, mother Kristin?) - yes, I cleaned up my kitchen after. In fact, I also cleaned it up before!

Kyle - no unecessary heat in the house! The peppers were good in the dish, which actually was really mild. You remove the seeds and inner membranes, which is where all the heat comes from. (Just don't use your fingers to do it, like me.)

Caitlin - frozen shrimp would be fine, I'm sure, but you'll want to defrost it first. As for the bell pepper substitution, I would advise against it for 2 reasons: 1. I don't really like bell peppers, unless they are fried with onions or in beef & peppers like my Dad makes. 2. I don't think the flavor would mesh well with this dish. I think it would be a weird contrast instead of enhancing it.

BellaKarma said...

If I weren't a veggietarian, I would be inhaling that right now.

Anonymous said...

How come you didn't send me some? :(

Tami said...

Christyn- I didn't think it would travel well?

Jill - If you make it without the shrimp and reduce the amount of lime juice, you would have a refreshing pico de gallo to use as a dip or relish (or snack...). Or, throw some cubed cheese in for protein, if you eat dairy.