I grew up eating lots of Ceviche as a kid — my mom would make it pretty often during the hot summer months. I did not realize what a special dish it was until I was older.  Ceviche can be considered the Latin version of the shrimp cocktail.  It is a great blend of fresh vegetables, mixed along with your favorite shell fish (or even white fish in some countries). It makes a refreshing appetizer, picnic or potluck dish, or in our case, a great dinner.

It was going to be a hot one last weekend, so I decided to go to our farmers market to pick up some fresh produce and fresh shell fish for our Latin-inspired dish.

Ingredients

—Cilantro
—Red Onion
—Cucumbers
—Avocado
—Lemon
—Mangos or Papaya (or both)
—Shrimp
—Lobster tails (optional)
—Jalapenos (also optional – but oh so fantastic)
—Tostadas or Blue Corn Chips

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, dice/mince up all of the veggies first (my hubbie is super picky about thinly sliced veggies — but this is really up to taste). Add in the lemon juice of about 4 lemons and dice up the fruit and add to bowl. Dice the shrimp and/or lobster meat to the mixture adding the juice of 1 more lemon.

Before I add in the jalapeno, I separate out enough for my kidlets to enjoy. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Mix up really well, chill for about an hour. Serve with tostadas or blue corn chips.

FOR THE ADULTS — Dice and add the jalapeno (yes, including the seeds).

Buen Provecho