Shrimp Ceviche
First off, what exactly is ceviche? According to The Food Lab: At its most basic, it consists of slices or chunks of raw fish (or sometimes shellfish) tossed with an acidic marinade, most commonly plain citrus juice. As the pieces of fish sit in the marinade, the citric acid from the juice slowly causes the flesh's proteins to denature, in very much the same way that heating will. The result is raw fish with the opaque appearance and firmed texture of cooked fish.
In our recipe below, we create a shrimp ceviche, but the science behind it is still the same. This recipe is one of those recipes that has everyone thinking you spent a lot of time creating it, but really, it’s one of the easiest recipes to put together ever! Impress party guests or just impress your family right at home - this one’s good any time of the year!
Ingredients:
- 4 oz raw shrimp; peeled, deveined, and cut into pieces
- 1/4 C lime juice (about 4 limes juiced)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 oz. tomatoes, diced
- 2 oz. green onions, diced
- 1 oz. cilantro, thinly chopped
- ¼ - ½ jalapeno, diced
- 2 oz. avocado, diced*
- 1 50-calorie corn tortilla*
*Omit these ingredients if on HCG
Instructions:
- Peel and devein shrimp before dicing into small pieces.
- In an airtight container, mix lime juice and salt. Add raw shrimp pieces. Seal and let marinate in the fridge for 45 minutes.
- While the shrimp is “cooking” in the lime juice, dice: tomatoes, green onions, jalapeno, cilantro, and avocado and place in a bowl.
- When the shrimp is done “cooking” it should have an opaque color (now white or pinkish instead of transparent). Remove shrimp from the fridge and add to the bowl with the diced veggies. Note: you will want to add some of the lime juice, but not all of it.
- Mix together and let sit for 10 minutes so that the flavors have time to marry.
- Serve on a corn tortilla or enjoy straight from the bowl as is!
Makes 1 serving | Replaces: 4 oz. protein; 4 oz vegetables | if using avocado & tortilla then also replaces 1 healthy fat & 1 starch, respectively
