Celebratory Ceviche

This week I finally got around to making our celebratory “first meal in the apartment” dinner. Just one week after moving in – not too bad. On the menu was a scallop ceviche. Okay, not quite Asian, but I pulled this one out of my “special occasion” bag of tricks and I’d say it did the trick (as in…while you were at work all day I mastered this impressive restaurant-quality scallop ceviche!)

This meal wins the prettiest presentation award and so I have to give proper thanks where thanks are due. So a shout out to....unemployment! My day started by hitting the markets around 10am. I then spent a leisurely day looking for ingredients and wandering through streets of Hong Kong. I finally was back in the late afternoon to start prep work and make sure that all of my ingredients were nicely washed, chopped, diced and spiced. I even was able to take the time to plate my dishes and have everything ready by time Pat got home.  It was a rare occurrence in my kitchen: a perfectly timed and orchestrated symphony of shop, prep, cook, serve.  While I had the better part of the day to spend in the kitchen, the true beauty of this dish is that you really don’t need more than 1 hour to create this ceviche.

This scallop ceviche dates back to my recipe book started in 2004. It’s a tear-out from Hamptons magazine and is a dish from an east end restaurant. It’s light and refreshing with flavorful bursts of citrus and a rich avocado topping. And while it's simple to make, it looks quite impressive (if I do say so myself)!

Enjoy this with a side salad for your main or with a crostini or crunchy bread for an app.  Serves 6.

What you’ll need:

1 lb raw scallops, cleaned and finely chopped

3 limes, juiced

2 lemons, juiced

1 orange, juiced

salt

white pepper

cayenne pepper

1 tbs olive oil           

zest of 1 lime

1 lb tomatoes, seeded and diced

2 tbs tarragon, chopped

1 tbs aged sherry vinegar

4 avocados, mashed

zest of 1 orange

2 tbs orange juice

Tobasco sauce

What to Do:

In a glass bowl (or other non-reactive bowl) combine lime juice, lemon juice and orange juice. Macerate scallops in all of the juices. Make sure all of the scallop pieces are coated, cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes (or longer).  When ready, drain scallops and combine with lime zest, olive oil, pinch of salt, pinch of pepper and pinch of cayenne pepper. Set aside. Seed and chop tomatoes. Combine with tarragon, vinegar. Set aside.  Mash avocados with orange juice, orange zest and tobasco sauce, to taste.  Set aside. When ready to serve, layer all ingredients starting with your scallop at the bottom, then tomato and top with avocado.