Tropical Snapper Ceviche

While breaking tradition isn’t always wise, this sweet, tropical take on ceviche is the perfect summertime treat. Fresh snapper is the star of the show, but the combination of citrus, mango, ripe avocado and sweet onion makes for an incredibly flavorful co-star. Finally, serving in a hollowed-out pineapple not only yields a great presentation, but also adds just the right amount of extra sweetness to this dish.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 lb. of snapper
½ cup sweet onion, chopped
5 large limes
1 large orange
1 large pineapple
½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 cup mango, diced
1 cup avocado, diced
Salt (to taste)
Black pepper (to taste)

Fish Substitutions

Dolphin
Grouper
Lionfish
Hogfish

Instructions

First, prep the fish (I used fresh mangrove and yellowtail snapper) by laying it out, patting it dry and cubing it into half-inch to 1-inch pieces, depending on your desired thickness. Once the fish is prepped, let it get nice and cold in the fridge while you prep the other ingredients.

Next, you need to get your fruits and veggies ready to go. Start with your sweet onion, finely chopping until you have half a cup. Although it’s a sweet onion, onion can be an overpowering flavor, so make sure you don’t overdo it. Do the same to your mango and avocado, although you’ll want a full cup of each of these ingredients. To finish this step, finely chop fresh cilantro until you have half a cup.

Now, it’s time to prep the pineapple. Slice a whole pineapple vertically down the center. While you won’t be adding any pineapple chunks to the dish itself because it can get soggy, the hollowed-out halves will be used to serve your ceviche. Simply hollow out each half until there’s only a thin layer on fruit, pour the remaining juice in a separate container and set aside.

To assemble the ceviche, start with a large mixing bowl. Add the fish, mango, avocado, onion and cilantro and give it a light mix. Now, before you squeeze your limes and orange, don’t forget to zest one lime into the bowl with the other ingredients. Instead of juicing my citrus into the same bowl, I prefer to get it all in a separate bowl, along with my leftover pineapple juice, and then pour it all in with the other ingredients.

Once the citrus juices are in, add salt and pepper to taste, give it a good stir and place it in the fridge. While many think ceviche needs to soak in lime juice for a long time, I find the fish reaches the best texture after about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.