Hotter than hot calls for very cold food.

Ceviche. Cold. Perfect for a very hot day.

Although today a tiny bit cooler than yesterday, it was more humid. Ugly combination for those of us who aren’t used to it. And the compressor went out on the air conditioner Saturday evening a bit after 6:30pm. Of course tightwad won’t call the service guy until Monday morning. Let’s just say I have a new respect for those who lived a long time ago without air conditioning AND wore layers of clothes from their necks to their toes…

So today, I made Ceviche. Ceviche basically is seafood that is cooked in something acidic instead of using heat. Being quite the adventurous eater, I have no problems with this concept. However, tightwad does. So to appease him, it’s possible to precook the seafood for just a skosh and then mix it with the remainder of the ingredients. Be very careful to not overcook as the acid in the recipe will continue to cook the seafood.

Shrimp Ceviche

~~from 1000 Mexican Recipes cookbook

1 pound (16 to 20) large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 medium tomato, chopped

¼ medium white onion, finely chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and deveined and finely chopped (or use I jarred pickled jalapeno chile, seeded and deveined)

½ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

¼ cup fresh lime juice

½ teaspoon salt or to taste

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste

1 large avocado cut into ½ inch dice

2 teaspoons olive oil

Bring a medium pan of water to a boil. Cut the shrimp crosswise into thirds (I leave mine whole). Drop the shrimp into the boiling water until they just turn pink, about 45 seconds. Drain immediately and cool under running water. Put the shrimp in a glass or stainless steel bowl. Add the tomato, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Stir. Cover and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Shortly before serving, gently stir in the avocado and olive oil. Serve in small bowls or cocktail glasses.