Ceviche - Perfect for any party!

Party sized Ceviche

'Tis the season for parties!  Lots of parties!  Ceviche makes a great appetizer or first course for any type of gathering.  Just change the way you present this light, seafood dish and ceviche is at home at fancy holiday parties, black tie New Year's Eve dinners, the Super Bowl and yes, ceviche is even perfect for the dreaded corporate office party (shiver).

My favorite ceviche is a combination of the freshest shrimp, bay scallops and calamari you can get your hands on.  Toss it with diced southwest ingredients in a citrus marinade and spoon it into martini glasses for a little glitz.  If your party needs to serve more guests, stretch your budget as far as you need to by adding more vegetables and serve with corn chips.

Ceviche is anything you need it to be.

Black Tie Ceviche Martini with Calamari, Shrimp and Bay Scallops

2 quarts salted, boiling water

2 quarts cold water and enough ice to make a ice bath

8 0z fresh bay scallops

8 oz fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped into pieces that match the bay scallops

8 oz fresh calamari rings

½ small jicama, peeled and diced

½ cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

1 orange, segmented and diced

Marinade

½ cup fresh orange juice

½ cup fresh lime juice

½ cup fresh lemon juice

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced

½ red onion finely diced

2 tablespoons minced cilantro

salt to taste

Garnish

1 avocado, diced

1 cup micro greens

Method

Bring water to  boil and salt as you would pasta water.  Set up an ice bath and have ready.

Add diced shrimp and bay scallops to boiling water.  Boil for two minutes. Add calamari and boil for an other minute.  Do not over cook.  Drain immediately  and shock in the ice bath to stop the cooking.

Mix together the orange, lime and lemon juices with the diced red onion, jalapeno and minced cilantro.  Add the seafood and chill for one hour.

Toss with diced jicama, cucumber and oranges.

Spoon into martini glasses and garnish with freshly diced avocado and micro greens.

Tips for stretching ceviche to feed a larger crowd.

Increase amount of shrimp or use shrimp only.

Add more jicama, cucumbers, oranges, avocados and another jalapeno.

Add diced tomatoes and onions for inexpensive ways to stretch ceviche.

When adding tomatoes, replace the orange juice with v8 juice.

Use cilantro for a garnish instead of pricy micro greens.

Serve with lots of tortilla chips and you have the perfect game day appetizer!