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Bursting with bright color and phenomenal flavor, this fresh and healthy scallop ceviche is on par with any that you’ll be served at a restaurant. Simple and delicious, this easy appetizer comes together in no time and is an oceanic celebration you’re going to love!
What is Ceviche?
Originating from South America where fresh seafood is plentiful, ceviche is a dish that consists of fresh, raw seafood (fish, shrimp, scallops etc.) that is marinated in citrus juice and seasoned and garnished with other fresh ingredients. Delightfully wholesome, this dish is colorful, clean, uses simple ingredients and its seasoning can be customized to suit your personal taste.
Here’s Why You’re Going To Love This Dish!
- It’s wholesomely clean eating, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, keto-friendly, paleo-friendly, and pescatarian-friendly. (That’s a lot of friendly!)
- This dish is incredibly healthy as it contains no artificial additives or preservatives and is made using whole fresh ingredients.
- It is incredibly easy to make, comes together in no time, and is ready to enjoy within 30 minutes.
- It is fresh and light and makes a great snack or appetizer.
Ingredients Needed
- Scallops: Fresh or thawed raw scallops are recommended. I prefer to slice mine into pieces to match the size of the other ingredients.
- Cucumber: I like using mini cucumbers which are great for salads as they’re sweet with minimal seeds and the skin is so thin you don’t need to peel it. Similarly hot cucumbers are also great to use.
- Tomatoes: You can use any kind of tomato but cherry or grape are the best options. If using larger kinds like plum or beefsteak, be sure to remove the seeds first to reduce the liquid levels.
- Lime or Lemon Juice: Use fresh squeezed lime or lemon juice for this recipe. Interestingly enough, while limes are more typically used because of their availability, I personally prefer to use lemon juice for this recipe because not only is it slightly more acidic than limes, but the sweet citrus pop pairs amazingly with the scallops. That being said, do not use the pre-bottled stuff, stick to fresh only.
- Cilantro: Cilantro is the first choice for this recipe but you can also use parsley.
- Jalapenos: Fresh or pickled the addition of jalapenos adds a great bite of spice that rounds out our dish.
- Salt: You can use a Pink Himalayan or sea salt or any salt of your choice.
- Black Pepper: Fresh or pre-ground black pepper can be used.
- Red Onion: I prefer to use red onion for this recipe for it’s sweeter flavor but you can also use white or yellow if preferred but consider using a bit less than the recipe calls for.
- Mango: This is an optional ingredient but a bit of ripe mango pairs SO amazingly with all elements of the ceviche and gives it just an extra little umph but also the pop of color is phenomenal. You can use fresh or frozen (but thawed) mango.
What Kind Of Scallops Is Best For This Recipe?
For most people your choice will be between sea scallops and bay scallops. Between the two, I highly recommend using bay scallops. They’re caught or farmed closer to the shore/bay and they known for being are smaller with a sweeter flavor profile and a more tender texture. Sea scallops on the other hand are caught/farmed further out in the ocean, they are much larger in texture and while they are phenomenal when seared they are not the main choice for this dish – though they can still be used if you like.
Is This Dish Really Safe To Eat??
Ingesting uncooked or raw meat is a reasonable concern many people have, however ceviche is a dish that is over 2000 years old and it continues to be a delicacy around the world. The biggest key is to use seafood that is fresh (whether that means fresh caught or flash frozen). When it comes to scallops, you want to ensure that they have absolutely no smell to it except for maybe a mild waft of clean, fresh, slightly sweet, seaweed/ocean. If your scallops smell even remotely fishy, feel slimy, or have a greyish appearance, DO NOT use it for this recipe. Those are classical signs that scallops are going or have gone bad.
How Is It Possible to “Cook” with Lemon/Lime Juice??
Now most of us know that cooking involves some kind of heat application, but ceviche simply marinates in lime or lemon juice so how can this be considered “cooking”? Technically it’s not, but what does happen is the citric acid in the juice interacts with the proteins of the scallops and breaks them down to “cook” them. More to that, the juice has amazing antibacterial properties that will kill germs and bacteria on the surface of the scallops making them safe to eat.
I actually came across this really amazing video showing a view under a microscope of What Happens When Lime Juice is Added to Pond Water and another one showing What Happens When Lemon Juice is Added to Pond Water and it’s quite amazing to see how efficient and effective (and instantaneously) it works to kill most of the bacteria.
Here’s How To Make This Easy Ceviche
With our ingredients prepped and ready to go making this ceviche is as simple as…
We’ll start by adding our scallops to a clean, non-reactive bowl or dish (1). I recommend using glass or glazed ceramic and recommend against using any plastic container since many are porous, or metal containers will alter the flavor since the acidity of the lemon juice may react with the metal.
Next we’ll add in all the other ingredients including the tomatoes, cucumbers, mango, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, salt, pepper and finally our lemon/lime juice (2-6).
Toss all your ingredients together until everything is completely coated in your lemon/lime juice. Cover your ceviche and let it marinate either at room temp if it’s not too hot, or in the fridge for as little as 20 minutes.
Ceviche is a fresh dish that is made and served soon after. Allow your ceviche to marinate for 20-60 minutes before serving to experience the truest form of this dish. While you can keep it stored in the marinade in the fridge for up to 3 days, the lemon juice will continue to break down the seafood and essentially pickle your fish after 2 hours, which honestly doesn’t really affect the taste, flavor or textures that much.
What To Serve With Ceviche?
Ceviche is best enjoyed as a dip of sorts so pair your ceviche with tortilla chips (corn or flour), plantain chips, tostadas or even potato chips. That way you can scoop up bites of this delightfully refreshing dish.
And there you have it, clean and simple, we hope you love this classic ceviche as much as we do! And if you can, don’t forget to leave a rating on the recipe and let us know your thoughts in the comments below! 🥰
Scallop Ceviche
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb bay scallops thawed and cut into pieces
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice or lime juice
- 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes diced
- 1/4 cup cucumber diced, optional
- 2 tbsp red onion sliced thin and washed in an ice bath then patted dry
- 2-3 tbsp mango ripe, diced, optional
- 1 tbsp fresh cilantro or parsley chopped
- 1 tbsp jalapenos diced
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients together in a non-reactive bowl or container (glass or ceramic is best) and toss to ensure that all pieces are combined in the lemon/lime juice.
- Cover your ceviche and let marinate for at least 20 minutes or as long as 60 minutes before serving.
- Serve with any chip of your choice from tortilla (corn or flour) to plantain chips or tostadas, or you can also use potato chips if you prefer.
- Keep your ceviche chilled and store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight glass or ceramic container for up to 3 days. This dish should not be frozen.
Notes
- Note about this dish in accordance with the department of health: Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness, especially if you have certain medical conditions.
- A note about the scallops: Since this recipe uses RAW seafood you want to be sure you're using the freshest scallops and that includes frozen ones which can actually be fresher than thawed ones since they are processed and flash frozen immediately after being harvested.
- Your scallops should smell like nothing once thawed or raw. At most it should have a clean, slightly briny ocean smell to it. However, if you get even the slightest hint of fishiness do not use those scallops for this recipe. If you're nervous about using raw scallops you can steam or boil your scallops for 2-3 minutes until fully cooked, then cool and use as directed in the recipe - the texture will be different if you use this method.
