Orange Basil Shrimp Ceviche

Ceviche is an example of some of the reasons I really love cooking. It's so simple, yet it usually blows everyone's minds with how freaking delicious it is. Also, the whole concept of it- cooking fish without heat, with the acid of citrus alone- is really cool. Food can do some pretty crazy things.

I hadn't had ceviche since... well, mexico last winter, but before that i hadn't had it since I was a youngun, and my grandpa would make it for our family every once in a while. Back then i didn't know what it was, and my parents just called it "marinaded shrimp". Probably because they knew if they told me it was raw shrimp that sat in lime juice for a few hours I wouldn't eat it.

I don't usually eat meat, but I ate it in greece (it's kind of necessary... though I ate less than I thought I was going to have to) and so I felt ok about making this for my parents and myself a few days after I got back. It's an adaptation of one of Dan at The Food in my Beard's recipes, and as is the case with most things that are inspired/from tfimb, it was awesome. really, really refreshing and surprisingly full of flavor. like, suspiciously full of flavor, for how few ingredients there are.

Make up a batch of this, it's freaking delicious and seriously one of the most perfect summery dishes out there!

Orange Basil Shrimp Ceviche
Ingredients
1 pound raw shrimp (get the best quality you can find) 
5 oranges
4 limes
2 tbsp finely chopped basil
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/2 red onion
1 clove garlic, finely minced or grated
Salt and pepper to taste

  1. Start by removing all the crap parts of the shrimp- the legs, shell, etc. Then cut the shrimp into small, 1 cm pieces.
2. Juice the oranges and limes through a strainer into a medium serving bowl. Make sure you get as much juice as you can!

3. Cut the onion into thin strips. you could also dice it if you wanted to have a more salsa-like ceviche, but my grandpa always used thin onion strips so that's what I like :)

4. Add the onions, garlic, basil, and cilantro to the bowl with the citrus juice. Stir to combine.

5. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste. you can always add more after the shrimp is done cooking, too.
6. Add the shrimp to the marinade and stir, making sure all the shrimp pieces are completely submerged. Cover with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge for 1-6 hours, or until the shrimp is completely opaque and cooked all the way through. the cooking time varies depending on the size of your shrimp pieces and how fresh the shrimp is. The longer you leave it in there the more cooked and marinaded and flavorful it will get! I left mine overnight. Serve with chips or eat by itself.

8th Day of Christmas

Every year in my family we eat tamales on Christmas Eve. It's a tradition in mexico and somehow we picked it up... probably since we're pretty close to the border. Some years we buy them, but for the past several years my Dad and I have made them together. It can be a lot of work but I think it's totally worth it!

We always make some pork tamales and some green chili and cheese tamales. They are both delicious.

My dad always makes the pork so I'm unsure of the recipe, but I think it comes with the tamale making kit you can buy near the bags of dried chilis in a supermarket. Or, you can use one of these recipes.

You will need the prepared pork filling, a large can of whole green chilies, a large block of cheddar cheese, some masa, some lard or butter, and some dried corn husks.

The masa is prepared by mixing it with some lard or butter. There should be a recipe on the masa bag.

Cut the cheese into 4 inch long cm wide blocks. I cut 24.

Soak the corn husks in water to loosen them up.

Tear the chilies into strips- about 4 strips per chilie

 To assemble, take one of the corn husks and spread about 1/4-1/3 cup of masa on the larger end. What you see in the next picture is a little thin- you would probably want a bit more masa.

Put your filling on the masa- for the vegetarian ones, I layered a strip of chili, then a chunk of cheese, then another chili.

Roll up the tamale and then tuck the end over the keep it secure.

Steam upright (open ends up) in a large steamer for about 45-60 min. serve immediately with salsa and refriend beans or freeze/refrigerate and reheat by re-steaming or refridgerating.

delicious! I'll try to post a pic of the finished product and our dinner on christmas eve. happy tuesday lovelies!
<3