Seafood Ceviche Salad

I have this problem where I compulsively add leaves to everything at certain times of the month. Why? I have been buying my greens in bulk from Costco and I never quite make it through the bin by the time they start to wilt. But I also hate to admit defeat and waste food. So, what began as a typical quest to make ceviche, turned into a ceviche salad. Which I highly recommend!! Not only do you have the delicious ceviche you set out to make, but you also have the added benefits of extra nutrients (hello dark leafy greens!) and something to soak up the yummy ceviche marinate that’s always left behind (hi two-birds-one-stone salad dressing!).

Ingredients:

(Serves 2 as a lunch salad)

2 mini cucumbers, quartered (~3/4 cup)
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1 lime, juiced (2-3 tbs juice)
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 avocado, diced
.75 lbs wild caught ahi
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
2 cups spring mix (or preferred greens)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients but spring mix in a large bowl and let sit for 30 min – 1 hour for the fish to “cook” (see here for how this works). Then serve over a bed of greens as a seafood salad. Enjoy!

Notes:

I bought my ahi from Costco, and it was perfect! I will say that it took a bit of pre-planning, as Costco does not always have wild caught ahi in stock. You can also try your local fishmonger or the Whole Foods/ Safeway/ Foodland’s counter, but be sure to let them know you’re going to be using the cut in ceviche!

What am I listening to as I make this? “All I Need” by Jacob Collier

What can I learn while I make this? How ceviche works! Now, as I was born in Hawaii, I was habituated to people eating “raw” fish at an early age. That being said, I understand many people are not, so let’s dive into how the fish is actually “cooked” during the ceviche preparation. The secret is in the acid used— the lemon or lime you see called for in ceviche recipes isn’t just for taste: the high amount of acid actually cooks your fish! This is why recipes instruct you to let your ceviche marinade for a bit prior to eating it. The amount of time you let it sit will correlate to how “cooked” it is: I’d aim for 30 minutes if you want it more on the raw side or an hour if you’d like it less raw. I usually do a 3o minutes, but I’m impatient!

What if I want an easy seafood meal but not this one? Don’t worry– I won’t be offended! Check out these other ideas below: