Kyle’s Killer Crab-Lovers’ Ceviche Del Mar

Kyle and I had fun naming Kyle’s Killer Ceviche Del Mar.  We tossed around a couple of ideas like Kyle’s Shrimp and Crab Ceviche.  We thought that was too plain and came up with adding killer to the title because this ceviche is definitely that – a deliciously addicting killer of a recipe and a budget killer!

I teased him and said we should call it Kyle’s Budget Killer Shrimp and Crab Ceviche, but not wanting to chase readers away, we decided that Kyle’s Killer Ceviche Del Mar covered all the right bases – it describes how delicious it is (killer), it tells readers what it is (ceviche) and gives it a romantic twist by using the Spanish word Del Mar (of the sea).

“Who is Kyle?” you ask.  This is Kyle…

and, this is Kyle…

and, this is Kyle, preparing the shrimp for Kyle’s Killer Ceviche Del Mar.

Kyle is my nephew; my youngest sister, Dawn’s, youngest child.  But, as you will note, he’s no longer a child.  He’ll turn 25 soon; next month actually.  Currently, he and his longtime girlfriend, Carolina, are on a fabulous trip to Paris.  But, he came for a visit a few months ago and I asked him to bring me a recipe and teach me to cook something to add to my long-running series on this blog, Teach Me to Cook.

Here’s Kyle picking through a bunch of cilantro.  You can see that he’s already made fine work of chopping the cucumber into nice quarter-inch cubes.  When Kyle was a little boy and would come for a visit, he showed an interest in cooking.  He’d asked me questions about food and recipes, probably because I was always in the kitchen cooking during his visits!  And, he remembers his grandfather, Chuck, liked to cook and was a creative cook.

Kyle’s Killer Ceviche Del Mar isn’t difficult to make – just chopping and marinating and voila’, a fantastic appetizer for a crowd!  But, you do need to marinate the shrimp in lemon juice for about 4 hours.  Here’s the shrimp that Kyle cut up marinating in lemon juice.  Marinating the shrimp in lemon juice “cooks” the shrimp, but if you want to make this dish faster, you can lightly and quickly saute’ the shrimp in a small amount of canola or vegetable oil, let it cool in the refrigerator and then finish the recipe.  But, “true” ceviche is marinated (cooked) in some type of citrus juice, usually lemon or lime.

Here it is, finished, in a large blue glass seashell-shaped bowl with a side of pre-cooked crispy tostada shells.  You can see that Kyle’s Killer Ceviche Del Mar is swimming in juices from the marinade.  Note, too, that the cucumbers and tomato will add their juices to this fabulous dish. Plus, of course, the Clamato.

And, it’s safe to say that this amount will generously serve about 16 people as an appetizer on a tostado shell.  If you serve it with tortilla chips instead, this will serve a crowd of 30!  Be sure to include a slotted spoon to drain the juices as it’s served!  While this looks like a lot of cucumber floating in this dish, don’t skimp on the cucumber.  It adds just the right cool, refreshing, crispy crunch to this delectable appetizer.

Here’s one plated with a bowl of avocado slices on the side and several fresh cilantro leaves for additional garnish.

And, here’s a close-up with the avocado on top.  By the time we got to this stage (food photo shoot), we were so anxious to dive into it that we made a bit of a mess with the avocado and just piled it on instead of making nice slices and fanning them on top of the ceviche.  We were also losing light!  We took these photos outside on the patio as the gloaming hit our valley’s skyline and dusk started to descend fast!

My sister, Dawn (Kyle’s mother), was my food photography stylist quickly moving stuff around as I shot the photos.  She said it was fun – she enjoyed the process including the bit of stress we were under because of the waning light.

In the photo above she started to fret about the piece of shrimp on the left side of the plate and the bit of cucumber and cilantro stem on the right and wanted to take this photo over again.  I said, “don’t worry about it!  It makes it more realistic-looking to have bits of food here and there.  After all, this is a blog we are shooting this for; not a magazine!”  But, in reality, I like to think of my blog as a magazine for my readers!

Remember I mentioned that this recipe is a budget-killer?  Well, Kyle has a solution – buy smaller shrimp (then you don’t have to cut them up) and use imitation crab meat.  When he gave me the ingredient list to shop, I bought exactly what was on the list!  So, while his ideas are sound, I can’t guarantee that you’ll have the same level of deliciousness should you skimp on these two items!  Personally, while you cut up the larger shrimp, I think doing so retains it’s texture; not sure smaller shrimp would provide that same perfect toothsome quality.

So, my idea on the budget-killer portion of this recipe is to just make a smaller amount.  Cut the recipe in half and only serve it to people you love (just kidding)!

If you are having a Cinco de Mayo party in May or just a Mexican-inspired party this summer, or just taco night with family and friends, Kyle’s Killer Ceviche Del Mar is sure to be a big hit!

Here’s a collage for Pinterest – thanks for sharing!

Here’s the recipe:

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Want more Mexican recipes for your fiesta?  Here are some favorites from Toot Sweet 4 Two’s archives:

Rosa’s Pork Posole

Ensalada de Nopales (Cactus Salad)

Rosa’s Caramel Flan

Oh, and here’s a bonus:

One post where you can find 20 Awesome Mexican Recipes for Cinco de Mayo!

Tootles,

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