Are you looking to host a party featuring authentic Hispanic food? Without a doubt, you’ll be featuring homemade postres, like flan, and a long list of other dinner favorites, including empanadas, tamales, and arroz con pollo. However, for my money, no party that claims to feature real Hispanic food is complete without the fresh, citric punch of ceviche.
As Linda Stradley of What’s Cooking America writes, ceviche likely first originated in Peru many centuries ago. Of course, the version that Peruvians made at the time was markedly different from modern ceviche. For example, it was made with an early version of beer that was fermented from corn. To this day, Peruvian ceviche remains different from the recipes found elsewhere in the world. This classic South American version incorporates both sweet potatoes and corn-on-the-cob, though it now uses citrus juice to cure the ingredients.
While the original may be from Peru, the most famous version we eat here in the States is undoubtedly the Mexican classic. We’re going to take that classic, fresh version and put a bit of spice into it today. Let’s get started!
Ingredients:
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 5 heirloom tomatoes, seeded and cubed
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 and 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
- Juice of 3 limes
- Juice of 3 lemons
- 1 fresh jalapeno, diced, unseeded
- 4 pounds shrimp, 41 to 50 count size
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the shrimp, the onion, and the citrus juice. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator to chill for two hours.
- Remove the now cooked shrimp mixture from the refrigerator. Add all remaining ingredients, mixing until everything is evenly incorporated.
- Serve this delicious dish to your guests in salted margarita glasses with a side of warmed tortillas or tortilla chips.
As you can see, making an authentic ceviche for a dinner party isn’t difficult at all. While this version incorporates some spicy jalapenos, keep in mind that you can remove those, replacing the fiery chili pepper with a mild bell pepper. Just remember to make this your own and you’ll only impress your dinner guests. Links like this.
