Seafood Ceviche

Recipe: Seafood Ceviche
Page: 36
Date Cooked: June 3, 2011

Central Pennsylvania has had a loooonnnnggg winter and when we skipped over spring completely and entered summer, I wasn't too disappointed. I was ready for the warm sun and I was ready for cold dishes - dishes with exceptionally fresh ingredients and bursts of flavor. One of the very first items that came to mind was ceviche. If I was still in Florida I would immediately know where to go to get some great ceviche. However, central PA isn't ceviche central and so I turned to my other option....a JW recipe.

I've never made ceviche before but I of course understand the basic concept. You let the acid from the citrus "cook" the fish - making it OK to eat raw. However, preparing a raw item on my own can be somewhat nerve-wrecking. I tend to be incredibly careful, so I bought the fish the day of and it remained in the fridge until the very last step.

Ingredients: Orange, tangerine, grapefruit, lime, lemon, red bell pepper, green bell  pepper, jalapeno chile, red onion, garlic, scallops, shrimp, salmon, cilantro, olive oil, salt, pepper, and chives.

Quite honestly, this dish was easier than I had expected. It really is just about slicing and dicing the ingredients. I began by slicing the tops and bottoms of the citrus and using a knife to cut the peels, following the contours of the fruit. I then removed each segment and placed all the citrus into a bowl. Finally, I juiced the lime and lemon into the same bowl as the citrus sections.

Peeling the citrus, while following the contours of the fruit

With the citrus out of the way, I moved onto coring, stemming, seeding, and dicing the bell peppers and the jalapeno. I also minced the onion and the garlic.

From Left to Right: Diced red bell pepper, Diced green bell pepper, and Diced jalapeno

I removed the fish from the refrigerator. I began by peeling and deveining the shrimp. I then cut the shrimp, scallops, and salmon.

Ceviche mise en place

With my mise en place ready, it was time to put the ingredients together. I added the bell pepper, jalapeno, onion, garlic, cilantro, olive oil, salt, and pepper to the citrus bowl. I then added the fish - salmon, shrimp, and scallops to the bowl and stirred. The ceviche was covered and placed in the refrigerator to marinate.

After its time in the fridge, I removed the ceviche using a slotted spoon. Finally, I placed some minced chives on top for garnish.

Seafood Ceviche

I took Jonathan Waxman's suggestion and made sure to pair the ceviche with an ice cold beer and let me say I think it made for a pretty good meal. My only complaint was that the citrus segments, particularly the grapefruit, were quite large and didn't seem to go well with the small dice of the rest of the ingredients.

Also, a few days prior to this recipe I was inspired to make a version of Jonathan Waxman's Guacamole and Fresh Chips (a recipe I already made), the fresh chips paired really well with the ceviche. The chips gave a crunchy and salty component that wasn't in the ceviche - all while fitting the theme of the meal.

But there is no doubt that ceviche is a great summertime dish and that this recipe has its merits. Would I make it again - YES but with a few minor adjustments.

Enjoy!