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Ceviche

In any coastal region where you find limes, you’ll find ceviche, going by one name or another. In Mexico, it’s frequently made with a combination of scallops, shrimp, conch, and octopus (the last two usually precooked to the point of tenderness), and those are all good fish for the mix. If you can find spanking-fresh fillets of your local white fish, you can use that here too, although scallops alone are easy and fabulous. (They’re also the safest shellfish to eat raw, but if the whole thing makes you nervous, see Mock Ceviche, page 35.) If you happen to have a couple of different colors of bell peppers, mix them; it’ll make the dish really sparkle.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 4 to 8 servings

Ingredients

1 pound perfectly fresh sea scallops or a mixture of fish, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup minced bell pepper
1 teaspoon minced lime zest
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Salt to taste
Cayenne to taste
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Toss together all the ingredients except the cilantro and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.

    Step 2

    Taste, adjust the seasoning, and serve, garnished with the cilantro.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
TagsCevicheMexicanLatin AmericanScallopShellfishSeafoodFishLimeCitrusFruitBell PepperVegetableStarterMainDinnerGluten FreeNut FreeDairy FreeVeganVegetarianRawQuickEasy5 Ingredients or FewerWeeknight MealsNo-CookCookbooks
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