Recipe collected and written by Leslie Barranco for the Social Justice 101 course, Fall 2020
Ever since I was a little girl, I can distinctly remember when my grandfather would sit me down on our dining table and let me be the first one to try his ceviche before the rest of our family came home from work. My grandfather wasn’t much of a cook but one thing for sure he knew how to make and enjoyed making was ceviche, occasionally on weekends. My grandma has always enjoyed collecting plants in her home and she’s the reason why I also like having plants in my home today. When I was about 10 years old, she decided to make a small garden where she grew mostly herbs and flowers. Cilantro was one of the plants in my grandmother's garden that became abundant, I remember because on Sunday mornings my grandfather would often times go to my grandmother's garden to pick fresh herbs and the aromatic scent of cilantro would fill our kitchen. Although now my grandmother doesn’t garden as much as she used to, my grandfather grew an affinity for herbs and today continues to grow some of his own. He especially loves growing cilantro around the spring and fall because it tends to thrive around cooler weather and he loves putting it in his ceviche for our holiday dinners. I have also grown cilantro of my own which I tend to give to my mom to use for cooking, it’s aroma has become one of my favorite scents. Even though I have eaten cilantro with many dishes over time, I will always cherish it more with my grandfather's ceviche.
Ingredients:
2 cups of shrimp, clean and without shell
4 tomatoes, finely chopped
1⁄2 onion, finely chopped
3⁄4 cups of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of salt
2-3 tablespoons of fresh cilantro,finely chopped
1 can of tomato paste/ketchup (optional)
3 jalapeno peppers, chopped (optional)
Steps:
In a large bowl, place the clean shrimp and finely chopped onion, tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapeño peppers (optional). Combine (don’t mix yet).
In a separate bowl, place and mix the lemon juice with salt and tomato paste/ketchup (optional).
Add the lemon juice mixture to the shrimp bowl and mix/stir together until satisfied with consistency.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate to allow it to marinate for at least 45 minutes. [Tip: If the shrimp has changed color, it’s ready]
Serve and enjoy!