Sexy Ceviche

I remember the first time I had vegan ceviche very vividly – it was a the wedding of two great friends, the bride is a vegetarian and the caterers had such a good balance of veg friendly food and things for carnivores too.  This was before I made the change in my dietary choices – the idea of veganism hadn’t crossed my mind yet and I had never heard of WFPB at all, so I was eating a good mix of all the delisiousness that was on offer that day.  Nonetheless, I just couldn’t help going back to the table where the mushroom and aubergine ceviche was.   Because it has the same zing of lime, onion and chilli as regular fish-based ceviche, and a degree of meaty texture from the mushrooms, I didn’t miss the flesh at all.

After reading about Dr Furhman’s acronym for the most health-promoting foods – G-BOMBS, I have really upped my mushroom intake.  I love to make broth, dry fry them and stir into pasta, stew with lentils… and then recently, I remembered the wedding ceviche and have been tinkering about with that for a couple of weeks now.

It’s makes an awesome light lunch, or dinner appetizer and if you pair it with something like crackers or even potatoes, it can be a whole meal in itself – satisfying without weighing you down.  Annnnd, because there’s no fish in this dish, it keeps better and longer than traditional ceviche – winner!

There are tons of recipes out there, but much like fish ceviche, i think that the technique is as important, if not more relevant than what you put in.  I have done it a few different ways with different mushrooms and varying the ingredients a little but the main thing is that you chop the veggies small, and dress them with onions, cilantro and plenty of fresh lime juice before setting in the fridge to meld the flavors together for at least a few hours.

My best one was the most recent, mostly because I used shallots instead of onions – previously had used a yellow onion and it was too overpowering despite being rinsed after chopping, and I steamed the mushrooms for a shorter time.

I defy any ceviche lovers to try a vegan version and not be as delighted by it as they are by the fishy one!

ceviche, easy recipe, make ahead

Yield: 8

Author: Pea Lawson

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Sexy Ceviche

So zesty and bright you won't miss the fish.

Prep time: 19 MinTotal time: 19 Min

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Ingredients

Ceviche

• 2 shallots chopped super fine (optional rinse in a sieve to mellow flavor a little)
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 can palm hearts rinsed, slices into 1/4"rounds and separated
• 1 lb mushrooms Shiitakes are the prettiest, but you can use any kind
• 4 limes Keep the zest from one and juice them all
• 1 seranno chilli deseeded and finely diced
• 2 tomatoes deseeded and diced
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro washed, dried and minced
• salt to taste

To serve

• 1 avocado sliced or diced
• Toast, crackers, bread

Instructions

1. Start by rinsing, wiping and slicing the mushrooms. If you are using shiitakes, you could tear them instead to give the impression of flaked fish
2. Bring some water to the boil and steam the mushroom slices for 2 minutes. This is to soften them a bit before marinading them. Do not allow them to get too soft or to cook because that will make the end result mushy and unappealing
3. Remove the mushrooms from the steaming basket and allow them to cool while you prep the rest of the ingredients
4. Place everything in a large mixing bowl together and stir well to combine.
5. Cover the mix and refrigerate for at least an hour, ideally longer to allow the flavors to mellow and blend together
6. Serve with crusty bread, toast or crackers
7. Avocado is a really perfect garnish here, it counterbalances the tartness of the lime with cool creaminess deliciously

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