Tropical Ceviche

Finally, it came to the day that I get to pick the menu. Of course, I still have to do the majority of the cooking, but I will say that Ms Cocktail pitched right in to help me out. It was definitely a seafood driven day with grouper Veracruz style and grilled scallops with a tomatillo salsa. However, my favorite piece of this puzzle was the tropical ceviche.

Ceviche is a technique for “cooking” fish and other seafood by soaking it in citrus juice. The acids in the citrus penetrate into the fish giving it the texture of cooked fish. It also imparts a wonderfully unique flavor. This ceviche also has a nice little kick from the serrano and jalapeno peppers. Enjoy!

Tropical Ceviche

8 oz flounder filets (or any firm, white fish filets)
8 oz bay scallops
3/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (7-8 medium sized limes)
kosher salt
black pepper
2 medium solo papayas, halved and seeded
1 cup diced Vidalia onion
4 serrano chiles, seeded and minced
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
2 medium plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup V8 juice
1 Tbs dry white wine
1 Tbs Tabasco
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Cut the fish into pieces the size of the scallops. Place the fish and the scallops in a 9x9 glass or other non-reactive dish and cover with the lime juice. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 4 hours (if you leave it for longer the fish will begin to get mealy).

Pour off the lime juice and season the fish and scallops with salt and pepper. Scoop the flesh from the papaya halves and finely dice it. Fold the diced papaya, onions, chiles, plum tomatoes, cilantro, V8 juice, wine Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco into the fish.