Cinco de Mayo Ceviche with Avocados
Common in many Latin American countries and a staple dish in coastal Mexico, ceviche is traditionally made by brining/cooking raw fish in fresh lime juice and then adding some fresh veggies, herbs and spices. Because we don’t use fish here at Plant-Based 411, blanched cauliflower makes a great substitute, and you will hardly miss the fish. Like with many recipes that are given the plant-based treatment, the lime juice plus some powdered, dried seaweed takes the recipe straight to the sea with no fish harmed in the making of this PB411 ceviche.
This is a tangy and refreshing recipe, fiber and vitamin-rich, and suitable for making your own with whatever veggies you like. Just be sure to blanch the cauliflower until tender, cut the veggies into uniformly small pieces, and let everything marinate for at least 1 hour or for several hours is even better. Today’s ceviche features Melissa’s Colorful Cauliflower for added pizzaz, but you can stick with all-white florets or even replace the cauliflower with diced hearts of palm (see Ceviche with Heart, September 2017).
As an appetizer or light lunch, you can serve the ceviche in avocado halves or go even fancier by layering some of the ceviche in parfait glasses with alternate layers of Melissa’s Party Guacamole. A fairly new and very popular product launched around the Super Bowl, Party Guacamole comes in a container filled with the equivalent of 12 ripe Hass avocados—2 pounds of smooth and chunky goodness—and is ready to be enjoyed in endless ways.
Enjoy this plant-based ceviche with a Mexican flair at your Cinco de Mayo fiesta or whenever you're craving something festive and zesty.
Colorful Cauliflower Ceviche
3 cups colorful cauliflower florets, diced
1 ½ cups mini cucumbers, diced
¾ cup red onion, diced
1/3 cup jalapeño, seeded and diced
1 1/3 cups Heavenly Villagio Marzano® Tomatoes, diced
¾ cup cilantro, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon nori or wakame (use a spice grinder to make it into a powder)
Salt & Black Pepper to taste
Avocado Halves or Party Guacamole
Preparation
Blanch the cauliflower in hot, salted water for about 4 minutes to tenderize it. Drain and rinse in cold water.
Combine the blanched cauliflower, red onions, cucumber, jalapeno, garlic, seaweed powder and lime juice in a bowl. Toss to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add in the tomatoes and cilantro and toss again. Adjust for more lime juice and salt & pepper if needed. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, but longer is better.
Serve cold in avocado halves or layered with Party Guacamole in parfait glasses. And don’t forget the tortilla chips!
