This Express Shrimp Ceviche is a light and refreshing appetizer great for any occasions. It’s a “fast preparation” version which contains some fresh dill, tomatoes, avocado and red onions. 

Having gone through the Americas…each country has their own version of ceviche. First of all, it’s usually a main dish. In Mexico, they make it quite spicy with avocados. In Peru, they serve it with choclo (big grain corn), sweet potatoes and it’s lightly spiced with rocoto peppers. In Colombia the ceviche is often made with ketchup or tomato sauce which makes it red served with fried plantain (patacones). Finally, in Ecuador, the ceviches are like a soup, with an extra shrimp broth, lots of cilantro and barely spicy. They are also many variations some with fish, shrimps, shellfish, even shark meat (Trujillo, Peru). But in the end, even if ceviches differ greatly, the technique stays the same ; to cook or partly cook seafood in lime juice. A real ceviche is always let from 30 minutes to hours in lime juice which will magicly cook the seafood with its citric acid. For this version, I’ve used precooked shrimps, this way it’s way faster and no need to worry about “hazardous consequences” of uncooked seafood…

This express version

My version is a merge of every ceviches I’ve ever encountered, plus a personal touch which is fresh dill instead of cilantro. Most ceviches contains fresh cilantro, which I love, but for a little change and to relieve those people who dislike cilantro (the soap tasting guys) I’ve used a fresh dill instead. The Ecuadorians always add a touch of freshly squeeze orange to their ceviches, I believe it add a little sweetness to balance out all that acid from the limes. Also, I’ve added a smooth avocado, like Mexicans do to smooth things up. A few tomato pieces and the tipical Peruvian red onion slices, which will be marinating with the shrimps. Overall the dish is quite acidic to highlight the limes, some people might find that a tad too much, so in this case discard the residual juice before serving. I like to add a touch of the juice but it’s up to you in the end.

Let’s talk hot peppers

As for the spice factor, another element that change greatly from country to country, some use tabasco other fresh hot peppers. Peruvian have that great spicy pepper called rocoto, while on the East side countries I saw habanero peppers. In the end, just use any hot peppers you prefer in the amount you prefer or not at all. I personally cannot eat too spicy so I’ve added about a 1/4 teaspoon of fresh habanero pepper which result quite mild. You could always add some extra side of chopped hot pepper for those who prefer theirs spicy. There is nothing more refreshing then a good ceviche appetizer!  Being a ceviche fan, there is another recipe of quinoa pasta ceviche as a main meal on my blog made with fresh shrimps this time so check it out here if it interests you.

Let’s get this citric acid to work!

Express Shrimp Ceviche

Makes 4 portions | Preparation: 1 hour | Difficulty: easy

Ingredients

• 200g of precooked shrimps (if frozen make sure to defrost them up first)
• 3 limes
• 1/2 orange
• 1 tomato cut into small cubes (brunoise)
• 1/2 red onion finely sliced (mandoline finest)
• 1 avocado cut into small cubes (brunoise)
• 1/4 of habanero pepper or any hot pepper finely chopped
• 2 tbsp of fresh dill finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Squeeze the juice out of the limes and orange
2. In a bowl or hermetic container add the shrimps, onions, salt, pepper and the juice, cover
3. Let marinate 30 minutes to an hour in the fridge
4. Add the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and the marinated shrimps and onions
5. Mix well and serve

Serve with a little of the marinade juice and extra dill. Enjoy!