Ceviche for Two

So I set out to treat Josh like a king this weekend. 🙂 He’s been working long, hard hours lately and has been dealing with some back pain. Last night I lit some sandalwood incense (my favourite), put on some soft, pan flute and guitar music over background ocean waves, and gave him a deep, gingered-up back and foot massage. He sailed off to sweet, blissful sleep after serving him the best homemade ceviche we’ve ever had:

Ladies, this is how to keep your man HAPPY, believe me.

My personal Recipe:

1 lb of thawed jumbo shrimp (shells and tail still on)
1 lb of thawed talapia
1/2  of a large red onion
2 whole cubed avocados
1 large bunch of cilantro
1 large cucumber (peeled)
2 medium tomatoes
1 & 1/2 (or so) cups of bottled real lime juice from concentrate + 6 whole limes
pinch of sea salt
Sriracha sauce (it’s a must)

1 bag of yellow, blue, or white corn tortilla chips

This dish comes with a warning: Your man WILL try to devour you after eating this. It really is that good and it really does make him that happy. 😉

Directions:

Before you start with the seafood, juice the 6 limes and mix that with the bottled lime juice. Have that close by in a bowl or storage container. You can use fresh, whole limes only, but of course that will take much longer. The bottled lime juice is perfectly sufficient for this ceviche. (I like to include at least 6 limes so it gives it that extra pop of freshness.)

On to the shrimp!

It’s alright to use frozen fish and shrimp- just not precooked. I prefer to use shrimp that still have their tails and shells on, because they’re often fresher (even if frozen) and juicier. Technically, anything with their shells still on or their bones still in will be fresher than if not. You will need to devein the shrimp, however; but that’s fairly easy. You’ll just need to cut a long, vertical line down the back of the shrimp after removing its shell entirely, and then open it up a bit and remove the very small, long vein that runs lengthwise throughout its body.

It’ll be important to place each shrimp into a semi-large container (I use Tupperware) after deshelling it so it won’t dry out and also, to keep it as fresh as possible. Deshelling shrimp can be a slow process.

After you’ve finished with the shrimp, you’ll need to cube them in pieces the size of a nickel- or thereabouts.  Next, you’ll need to cube the tilapias the same size as well.

I use Tupperware so that I can easily put a lid on it and place it in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours. Some recipes call for 30 minutes, some for 4 hours. It really depends on your ingredients and the quantity, etc. For this particular batch of ceviche, I go with 2 hours. You’re looking for the seafood to take on an opaque colour. The acids in the lime juice “cook” the fish and shrimp. After it’s finished, it’s so delicious and juicy and tender. It really is the perfect dish and makes a divine Sunday brunch in bed- such as today. 🙂

After the seafood is finished bathing in its “tiger’s milk” as its called, you’re ready to add the other ingredients. Chop up the (peeled) cucumber, tomatoes, cilantro (leaves only), avocados, halved red onion, and the pinch of sea salt and mix it into the dish of seafood. Stir it gently until well mixed and top with sriracha. Best served with yellow, blue, or white corn tortilla chips and DIG IN.

Because this dish is so healthy, you can eat tons of the stuff. The going price for a large serving of ceviche-for-one in a restaurant is $20.

This recipe serves 4-6 people and is equal to $50 worth of restaurant ceviche. The total price for all of the ingredients is $25, so that’s a saving of 50%. Not too bad. 🙂

Josh and I are little piggies so we ate it all ourselves. (It goes fast.) I’m off to make our fennel tea with organic, raw honey.

Bon appetit!