Those of you who follow my blog know that occasionally I am a cooking assistant at Whisk in Cary, one of my favorite stores ever! I always love working with Chef Cherisse Byers, and the last time I assisted, she made one of the best dishes I’ve ever tried out of the Whisk kitchen — Shrimp Ceviche. This stuff was absolutely awesome, with an explosion of fresh flavors and different textures. What an awesome recipe for summer, either as a main dish or appetizer — it’s easy to assemble and so, so refreshing!

Because of time constraints, Chef Cherisse poached the shrimp slightly, which I thought added the perfect texture to them. To make this a true ceviche, you would skip the poaching and chop the shrimp into bite-sized pieces, place it and the lime juice in a large bowl, and let stand until the shrimp are opaque. Then follow the rest of directions listed below. The only thing I added, once the ceviche was plated, was a couple dashes of hot sauce, but that is optional, depending on your taste.

Ingredients (4 large servings)

• 1 pound large shrimp (26-30 count), peeled and deveined
• ½ cup fresh lime juice (5-6 limes)
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (1 large lemon)
• 6-8 “cocktail” tomatoes, diced (or 3-4 plum tomatoes)
• ½ cup heats of palm, diced
• ½ cup red onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
• ½ jalapeno pepper, membrane and seeds removed, diced small
• 1 ripe (but firm) avocado, diced
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste
• Hot sauce (optional)

Preparation

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, and poach shrimp for 1½ minutes, until they turn slightly pink.

Immediately transfer shrimp to an ice bath.

Once shrimp are cool, chop into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a large bowl. Pour the lime juice over the shrimp and stir to coat.

Fold in the rest of the ingredients and season with the salt and pepper.

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla or plantain chips, or as a side dish to fish, burgers, steak, etc.

This goes great with margaritas or a glass of crisp white wine. Thank you, Chef Cherisse, for teaching me how to make this delicious dish!

Bon appétit!

Eat, drink and be merry!

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