How to Make Ceviche.

I love fish. It's delicious, especially when its raw (SUSHI!) so it should come to no surprise that I absolutely love Ceviche. It is originally a Peruvian dish, although almost every Latin American country has there own take on it. This particular recipe is actually an Ecuadorian one, so I hope you guys like!

Here's what you need:

2 lbs of white fish fillets (corvina, halibut, sea bass, tilapia, sole...I used Swai)

1/2-1 Ib of Shrimp (just depending on how much you like shrimp! Also, if the shrimp is frozen, make sure it is thawed before you begin)
4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 large red onion
3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced very finel
2 bell peppers, 1 orange and 1 yellow,
20 limes
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped as finely as possible
Salt to taste

Directions:

1. The first thing you want to do is cut all the fish into square pieces. They can be chunky or really small, just depending on what you prefer. I like to cut my pieces into larger squares. (Note: the fish wont "cook" as long in the lime juice if they are smaller.)

2. Put all the cut up pieces of fish into a bowl and mix in the bag of (THAWED) shrimp.

3. Next, you need to crush the 4 cloves of garlic. I do this by using a large knife and smashing it over the garlic with my other hand...

afterward the garlic skin will come right off. toss the 4 cloves of garlic into the bowl of shrimp and fish. You're also going to need to chop up about a tablespoon of the cilantro, add it to the bowl and mix in all the ingredients together.

3. This part is the most annoying...squeeze 10 limes into the bowl with the fish. I used a lime a squeezer thinger magiger.

after you have all the lime juice in there, make sure to mix the contents again in order to insure that all of the ingredients are blended in with the juice. Add salt (to taste) and cover up the bowl with plastic wrap and set it aside for about a half hour.

4. While the fish "cooks" in the lime juice, slice up the red onion into thin, but long pieces.

(this is optional, some people like their onion chopped really small.) Once this is done, put them in a small bowl and add some water (just enough to cover the onions) and salt. In ten minutes drain the water from the onions and set them aside for later.

5. Now, cut up the 3 tomatoes,2 bell peppers, and the remaining cilantro.

Again, you can cut these up to whatever size you want...I like my pieces chunky! Add these, as well as the onions, to the bowl with the fish and shrimp. Next, you want to squeeze out the remaining 10 limes into said bowl. Once all the lime is squeezed, mix in the ingredients.

6. Finally, you are going to want to cover the ceviche bowl with plastic wrap again and let the ceviche sit for at least 3 hours (4 is best.)

and once that's done...

and VOILA! You have ceviche!

Note: you can eat Ceviche by itself, with a side of platano chips, yucca, potatoes, or even rice!

Enjoy!

Elizabeth