Ceviche!

I went to a potluck last night so I made ceviche.

A lot of people don't quite understand ceviche. When they hear ceviche, they think raw which isn't the case. According to Wikipedia,

In addition to adding flavor to the ceviche, the acid in the citrus marinade pickles or "cooks" the fish, so by the time the ceviche is served, the fish is no longer technically raw.

My ceviche is quite popular.

Some people make ceviche with a tomato cocktail type sauce but I prefer a lighter fresher tasting ceviche so I altered a Rick Bayless recipe for classic ceviche that I found in the 2002 Food and Wine Magazine Classic at Aspen Tasting Notes.

I almost always make it with shrimp, not fish, although we did once make an awesome batch with fresh red snapper caught an hour earlier in the Sea of Cortez when we were staying near El Cardonal, just north of Los Barriles, Baja California Sur.

Since I don't like avocado or chiles and since Steve doesn't like olives, I omit all of those but I add a whole peeled chopped cucumber in order to introduce a wonderful crisp texture. My ceviche is not as spicy as some but the lime juice gives it a fabulous tang.

While the recipe is very easy, it takes a lot of chopping so whenever I make it, I double it. The fish can be prepared the day before (it should not marinate for more than 4 hours) but everything should be mixed together the same day it is being served.

I serve it with Tostitos Scoops which, although they break kind of easily, work like little bite sized tortilla bowls.

Yum!