My first attempt at ceviche!

Ok, so I labeled this Island cuisine because you can find all sorts of tasty ceviche's in the islands - but my absolute favorite is Ecuadorian ceviche. (Not the islands) Specifically, Mr. Farfan Senior's ceviche (whose son still promises me the recipe one day). Man - that stuff is the stuff that dreams are made of!

Anyways - I attempted to make mine from a hodge-podge of recipes I found online. And I have to admit, for my first attempt - I kinda hit it outta the park. Now you can too! Just follow this recipe:

You can make ceviche with white fish, shrimp or just about any kind of seafood. I chose to do a mix of shrimp and seafood. I cut up 1 lb of shrimp (no tails) and I par-boiled 1 lb of white fish fillets (I chose tilapia but you can also use corvina, halibut, sea bass, or sole), cut into small square pieces.

Next, add about 4 garlic cloves, crushed and then lime juice - lot's of it! If you don't plan to par-boil the fish then you need 20 limes, separated into about 10 limes to cook the fish and 10 limes for the ceviche marinade. Since I cooked my fish first, I only needed 10 limes.

Next: 2-3 hot peppers (I chose jalapenos and I diced them WITH the seeds to make it extra spicy) You can also use red chilies or serranos. If you don't like it too spicy de-seed the pepper. Also add bell peppers, I chose a mix of green, orange and yellow, diced finely.

Lastly, 4-5 large shallots, peeled and sliced finely. 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced very finely. 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped as finely as possible and trust me hear - take the time to remove the stems. I did and it was well worth it! 2-3 tbs of EVOO or sunflower oil. Salt to taste. (If you are serving with tortilla chips you can go easy on the salt - I actually didn't add any!)

Viola! A wonderful healthy dinner that will be "something different" and a crowd pleaser.

TIP: Make sure you use a non-reactive bowl to make this in. I chose a glass baking dish.