Picante Ceviche Mixto con los Mangos

Spicy Mixed Ceviche with Mangos

I love a ceviche. This is understandable, since I love raw or lightly cooked fish, and ceviche, by definition, fits perfectly.

There was a Mexican restaurant that Julia and I used to frequent when we lived in California. Here they served a ceviche very similar to the one I prepared here. I say similar, since they would not share any part of the recipe with me. So I said “I’ll show you” (OK, maybe I said something else), and this version was born.

The mango really helps keep the ceviche true to its citrus origins, and the peppers reinforce the Latin feel of the dish.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound white meat fish (such as sea bass)
• 1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 pound bay scallops
• 3 oranges
• 5 limes
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 large jalapeño pepper, finely minced
• 1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, finely minced
• 1 cup diced mango
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Start by cutting the shrimp and fish into a 1/4 inch dice. The bay scallops should be about that size anyway, but if they are not, slice them as necessary to active a uniform size with the rest of the seafood. Place the diced seafood in a non-reactive bowl.

Add to the bowl the chopped red onion, and the finely minced peppers.

Now for the “cooking” liquid. Completely juice 2 of the oranges and 3 of the limes, directly into the bowl. Remove any seeds, but do not worry if there is pulp. Make sure there is enough of the juice to completely cover the seafood. Mix throughly, and refrigerate for 4 hours, stirring every hour or so, to make sure all the seafood gets ‘cooked’ by the citrus juice.

That is the primary ‘cooking’. At this time, using a large colander, completely drain the ceviche. I know this will be sacrilegious to some, but draining the liquid at this time will remove a lot of the ‘fishiness’ from the ceviche, and allow the citrus flavors to be more pronounced.

Rince the bowl, and add the drained ceviche back in. Also add the diced mango (very small dice) and the chopped cilantro. Juice the remaining orange and the two limes into bowl, and again mix well. Refrigerate 1 more hour. This is the secondary ‘cooking’, and as mentioned, really helps concentrate the citrus flavor.

Serve the ceviche by spooning it in to small bowls, for a appetizer portion, or into a 6 ounce decorative glass (like a wine glass), for a more substantial potion, which fully showcases the ceviche.