¡Ceviche!

Remember how we went to Mexico back in April? Half the fun was in the eating, and the other night we recreated our favorite dish:

This is a shrimp ceviche that Kirk made with some of our last tomatoes (all those green ones we brought in before frost are turning red little by little, which has extended our tomato season by a good month or so). This is pretty much exactly like the ceviche we had in Tulum, and it was really easy to do.

Like, really easy.

All you need is 1 1/2 pounds of shrimp (peeled but uncooked), a half dozen limes, and an afternoon.

Put the shrimp in a bowl and juice all the limes into the bowl. Give it a stir and let it sit for 3-4 hours. 

Just before serving, drain the shrimp (which will now look pink), and add to a bowl with diced tomatoes, onion, and cilantro (and avocado, if you like) and stir. 

The end.

The thing with ceviche is that it "cooks" the shrimp with a chemical reaction between the shellfish and the acid of the lime juice. No heat required, although that means you need either really fresh shrimp or ones that have been previously frozen to kill any parasites you might be concerned about. You can check out more about the science behind the process here. (If you're scared, you can sauté the shrimp up a little first.)

I'm not much of a sushi fan, but I do love this. Probably because it actually tastes (and feels, texture-wise) like it's cooked. And it's tangy and and has cilantro and tomatoes, which is an extra bunch of points in its favor. 

This dish is definitely one that has me looking forward to next summer — it's the perfect use of tomatoes to cool off on a hot day!