If you're unfamiliar with ceviche... it's basically a Latin American dish of raw seafood of one sort or another cured (which basically cooks it without any heat application) in citrus juice, usually like a salsa with seafood. It's different from region to region, you'll never get the same one twice! Crab, white fish, lobster, shrimp, octopus, squid, whatever!
This is a Chicago kind of post! We were watching chef Rick Bayless' show on PBS - he has several restaurants in Chicago and while I never had the opportunity to try one while I lived there, he's a name I've known well for a long time. Bayless did a green ceviche with shrimp that looked amazing and it's been a while since Justin and I made a ceviche, so one day I texted Justin at work with a list of ingredients, and a deal - if he stopped at the store on the way home, I'd make him ceviche. We ended up doing it together anyway (because he's a nice guy like that). I pretty much followed Rick Bayless' recipe, but I made a few alterations to the sauce and I quite liked it the way it came out, so I wanted to share. Definitely can't take credit for this recipe... it's really all Rick Bayless, but here's the way I made it. I'm not actually sure how we have never used a Rise Against song on our blog, because they're also from Chicago and I love them! I was actually just listening to some the other day thinking surely I used at least one, if not several, of my favourite songs on the blog. But nothin'! Disgraceful. So here is Rise Against with "Black Masks and Gasoline". -jen
CEVICHE VERDE CON CAMARONES (altered version of Rick Bayless recipe) Time: 35 minutes Difficulty: Too easy Serves: 4-6
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
6 ounces fresh tomatillos, husked, rinsed and roughly
chopped, 4-5 medium
1 cup (loosely packed) fresh cilantro plus some 1/4 cup chopped
1 medium-sized jalapeño (seeded for mild heat, include seeds for medium heat)
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
3 medium-sized green onions, rough chopped plus 2 medium green onions diced
1.5 tsp salt
a few cranks of fresh ground black pepper
1 pound very fresh uncooked, medium shrimp,
peeled and deveined, chopped into bite size
2 medium avocados, cut into 1/2" cubes
tortilla chips
In a food processor or blender, combine lime juice, chopped tomatillos, 1 cup cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, 3 green onions, salt and pepper. Blend until slushy consistency. Combine shrimp and sauce into bowl, making sure shrimp is fully covered and refrigerate for 30 minutes. After refrigeration, stir in 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 2 green onions diced and avocado. Give it a taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve with tortilla chips.
Fish is a food that I didn't like until I was about 27 years old and Justin made me my first fish hash tacos. This sealed the deal for me and fish and I have had a love affair ever since. Since it's surely due to California that I love fish (it's much less "fishy" here than it is in Chicago), it was only natural that our play list consist of some of our favourite California bands - Rancid, NOFX, and Sublime. Sublime's "Bad Fish" came on, and seemed incredibly appropriate in its juxtaposition to our excellent fish recipe below. -jen
BLACK BEAN & OLIVE SPANISH RICE
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped green or Kalamata olives
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1.5 cups of long-grain white rice
2.5-3 cups water **see instructions
15oz can diced tomatoes, drained (keep juice and set aside)
15 oz can black beans, drained
2 tablespoons Caldo de Pollo (or chicken boullon)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Heat olive oil in large skillet or sauce pan. Sautee onions and carrots until tender and onions are transparent. Add chopped olives and minced garlic and sautee another 3 minutes.
Add rice to vegetables and mix in. Measure the drained tomato juice into a measuring cup, and use water to make up 3 cups of liquid total. (If you have 1/2 a cup juice, you'll use 2.5 cups of water). Carefully add liquid to hot pan. Stir in tomatoes, beans, Caldo de Pollo, cumin, coriander, chili powder, smoked paprika and cilantro. Bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat to low. Simmer for 25 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Don't lift the lid during cooking!
FISH TACOS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion (yellow, white, spring, or combination)
1 pound of boneless, light fish (sole, snapper, catfish, cod, etc), patted dry and cut into large chunks
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon rubbed or ground sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if desired)
1 lime (1 tsp of zest, and then juice the entire lime)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
corn tortillas
Avocado Sauce (see recipe below)
cilantro and chopped green onions for garnish
Queso Fresco (if desired)
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until onion is tender and translucent, 1-2 minutes. Add fish, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, lime zest, and cayenne. Cook for 2-3 minutes; fish will begin to turn an opaque white. Add lime juice, garlic, and cilantro. Continue cooking another 3 minutes, using the spatula to break up the fish into a hash. Remove from heat.
Heat tortillas over the open flame of a gas burner until lightly browned (or use a dry skillet if you have electric burners). Serve fish in warmed tortilla, top with Avocado Sauce, green onions, and cilantro. We like to add a little crumbled Queso Fresco to ours.
AVOCADO SAUCE
This is a light, avocado and citrus sauce that goes well with fish, chicken, or as a vegetable dip.
1 avocado, cubed
1 green onion, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons cilantro
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon green Tabasco sauce
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
In a small food processor, combine all ingredients, blend well.
