If you’re planning a Cinco de Mayo fête at home, ceviche is a great dish to work into your menu. OK, so it’s not authentically Mexican; it’s native to Peru. But this popular seafood salad has weaved its way into all sorts of culinary cultures. There’s good reason: It’s light, fresh and easy to put together, and if you live in a seafood-rich region like we do, it’s something you should make routinely. For Cinco de Mayo, it’s a terrific starter that plays well against more robust dishes like grilled beef fajitas or roast pork tacos.
While ceviche usually means a seafood salad whose proteins are “cooked” for several hours in citrus juice, this version uses shrimp and flounder that have each been lightly poached. It reduces the amount of time you need to marinate the dish, and it eliminates any concern over food safety.
Here’s how:
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Shrimp and flounder ceviche
Servings: 6 to 8 appetizer portions
1 pound medium Gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon crab boil
1 pound fresh Gulf flounder fillets
1 ¼ cup freshly squeezed citrus juice (use all lime, or a combination of lime, lemon and orange)
½ cup chopped scallion, white and green parts
2 serrano (or 1 jalapeño) peppers, membranes removed, seeded and chopped
1 cup diced peeled cucumber
1 cup sliced grape tomatoes
1 ripe avocado, diced
½ cup chopped cilantro
½ teaspoon salt
Several dashes Tabasco sauce
Tortilla chips for serving
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Fill a medium saucepan with water to three-quarters full. Bring to a boil. Add the crab boil. Add the shrimp, and turn off the heat. Allow the shrimp to cook until just done, about 1 minute. Drain and cool. In a large skillet with a lid, add ½ cup of water and bring to a boil. Add the flounder, cover and poach for about 2 minutes, until fish is just cooked through. Remove from the heat and cool. When the seafood is cool enough to handle, cut each shrimp into thirds and place in a large glass or ceramic bowl or a plastic container. Using your fingers, flake the poached fish into the bowl with the shrimp. Pour the citrus juice over the seafood. Add the remaining ingredients through Tabasco sauce and gently combine. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours. Using a slotted spoon, ladle the ceviche into individual serving vessels and serve with tortilla chips.
Enjoy!
Maggie Heyn Richardson is a regular 225 contributor and the author of Hungry for Louisiana, An Omnivore’s Journey. Reach her at hungryforlouisiana.com.