Do You Love Shrimp? You’re Gonna Love This Four-Step Ceviche Recipe

If you’re a fan of recetas de camarones, you’re no doubt familiar with ceviche. As written on WhatsCookingAmerica.net, ceviche was likely first created centuries ago in South America. Peruvians, or more aptly the Inca civilization that predated Peruvians, are known to have taken raw pieces of shrimp, lobster, and other treasures of the ocean and cured them in salt and chicha, the latter being something like a beer made from corn.

Today, the national fish of Peru has truly become an internationally loved food. The Mexican version is likely the most well know in the United States, with typical ceviche recipes using large shrimp, citrus juice, a touch of chili, and salt to make a dish that Serious Eats calls as healthy as it is flavorful.

Even as this paragon of recetas de camarones has become so popular, its biggest fans remain too frightened to even attempt to make their own ceviche at home. With this simple four-step recipe, adapted from Food Network, you can be certain to make a shrimp ceviche that is every bit as tasty as prepared versions.

• One pound 31-40 count shrimp
• The juice of one lemon and one lime
• One cup cubed Roma tomatoes (any tomato will work, but Roma have the best flavor)
• One half-cup of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• One half-cup red onion, finely diced
• One jalapeno pepper, finely sliced into rounds
• High quality extra virgin olive oil.
• Coarse sea salt

Let’s Put It Together

1. Place the onion, chili pepper, and shrimp into a bowl with the citrus juice.
2. Cover the container tightly and place into the refrigerator for at least 40 minutes, but be sure not to leave it to cure for more than three hours.
3. Remove the shrimp mixture from the refrigerator. Add the cilantro and tomato to the mixture, stirring them until evenly incorporated. Add sea salt to taste.
4. When serving the ceviche, be sure to finish each bowl with a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil to really bring out all of the dish’s flavors.

As you can see, this is an extremely simple way to make one of the most delicious shrimp dishes you’ve ever had. If you’re not a fan of spicy food, feel free to omit the jalapeno, using your favorite color bell pepper in equal amounts in its place. Pineapple and cucumber also work quite well with this dish. Whatever you do, just remember to make this your own.

Does this simple recipe for one of the most classic Hispanic foods make it into your cookbook for recetas de camarones? Tell us why or why not in the comments below. Read more here.