Shrimp Ceviche

On our recent family trip to Belize, Mario and I tried a local dish called "Conch Ceviche" that we both just loved. It is a type of salsa made with raw fish and lime. The acidity of the lime "cooks" the fish. It is wonderful. In fact, at the bar where we used to go for happy hour (Crazy Canucks) there was a "Ceviche Lady" who sometimes came around selling homemade Conch or Shrimp Ceviche in plastic cups with a little baggy of homemade tortilla chips. Hmmm, it was so good. Since we got home, I have been experimenting to come up with a recipe that closely matches the Ceviche we had in Belize. I think I've done it!! It was better with Conch, but you can't get that around here, so I had to use shrimp. I dunked the shrimp for only a second into a pot of boiling water, because (as I discovered) the lime will still cook the shrimp but it won't get that nice appetizing pink colour from the lime alone. Dunk it fast though, if you actually start to cook it in the boiling water, it will get tough.

Shrimp Ceviche

1 cup fresh shrimp
1/2 cup finely chopped tomato
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbsp chopped jalapenos
juice of 3 limes
salt to taste

1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the shrimp and immediately pour out into a strainer.

2. Rinse the shrimp in cold water, and cut into bite size chunks (you need to have about a cup of shrimp after it is cut into bite size chunks)

3. Add remaining ingredients and cover with fresh lime juice. The lime juice should be enough to half cover the shrimp mixture. Chill until the shrimp is cooked. This will take about 20 minutes (stir the mixture every 5 minutes or so).

4. Serve with tortilla chips.