Santa Fe Shrimp Ceviche

This beautiful and vibrant dish showcases the amazing flavors of simple cooking at its best. This amazing Santa Fe Shrimp Ceviche is inspired by an amazing dish that we enjoyed in, you guessed it, Santa Fe New Mexico! The region is known for their cuisine, and this amazing Tomato-based Ceviche is perhaps one of the most popular dishes in the region (excluding the famous Red and Green Chilies of course!)

Inspiration for this amazing dish

We picked up a few cookbooks when in Santa Fe with the ambition to try and recreate the cuisine at home. One of our favorite cookbooks was from the Santa Fe School of Cooking. It’s a culinary school that teaches locals about their amazing cuisine, and there are so many amazing recipes there!

Their Shrimp Ceviche was one that took our eye, as it instantly reminded me of the type of Ceviche’s that we enjoyed when visiting Santa Fe. In our recipe we’ve simplified a few of the ingredients in the recipe to make it more accessible for people at home

Also, a lot of the ingredients are ones that are region-specific to New Mexico. So, if you’re on the other side of the world wanting to enjoy this type of cuisine, we hope our version of the classic Santa Fe Shrimp Ceviche using more readily available ingredients is one you enjoy

How to make Santa Fe Shrimp Ceviche

With a Ceviche there are two primary components, the Sauce, and the Seafood. This recipe is slightly different to a regular Ceviche where the Seafood is placed completely raw into the citrus-based sauce to ‘cook’

In this recipe the Seafood is slightly cooked beforehand and then placed into the Sauce ready for serving. So, while technically a Ceviche, there is some separate cooking involved. What I love about this preparation is that your dish is ready instantly, instead of having to wait up to a few hours in some instances for the Seafood to completely cook through in the Sauce

Let’s kick things off with the Shrimp. We recommend getting your hands on about 6 – 8 Large / Jumbo Shrimp. This will be enough to feed 2 – 4 people as an appetizer. You can buy the Shrimp already peeled, or do it yourself

If you are peeling the Shrimp yourself, be sure to also devein them to remove than nasty part of the Shrimp. It’s not the most fun task in the kitchen, but a critical one for the best result. Here’s our video on how to properly peel and devein Shrimp

Poaching the Shrimp

As mentioned above, we slightly cook the Shrimp before it goes into the sauce to finish the dish. The best way to prepare the Shrimp is to poach it in boiling water. To do so, bring a pot of water to boil and season it well with Salt

Then, remove the Water from the heat, carefully drop the Shrimp in, and then cover the pot. The residual heat in the pot will cook the Shrimp in about 2 minutes time, and you’ll see them turn that beautiful pink color we all love with a nicely cooked Shrimp

Once cooked, immediately remove the Shrimp from the hot water to stop it cooking any further. Place them in some ice water or simply run them under cold water under the tap until they have cooled. Then, slice them in half down the center and then (optionally) cut them in half again to make some wonderful bite-sized Shrimp for our Santa Fe Shrimp Ceviche

Preparing the Sauce to finish our Ceviche

What I love about this Sauce, and what gives it its unique Southwest flavor is the inclusion of some very aggressive ingredients that you wouldn’t typically consider using in a Ceviche. That is, the use of Worcestershire Sauce and Chipotles in Adobo Sauce

Both Sauces have a distinct and quite intense flavor, and about 1 tbsp. of each is added to the Sauce. You would think these ingredients will completely overwhelm the subtle Seafood flavor, but it just works. I don’t know why, it just does!

The rest of the Ceviche includes more typical ingredients than you expect in a Ceviche. That is, Citrus in the form of Orange and Lime Juice, fresh Herbs with Parsley and Cilantro, and some White Onion for a bit of crunch

The final ingredient is the inclusion of Pickle Juice. The original recipe calls for using the juice of Pickled Chilis, but we ended up just using the brine / juice from Bread and Butter Pickles we have in the fridge. The result is the most wonderfully flavored and slightly spicy Sauce that is so unique and tasty

Alternative ingredients you can use

The one ingredient that may be a little touch to come by is Chipotles in Adobo Sauce. If you can’t find these, a simple alternative is to use Tomato Ketchup. Yep, that also sounds weird, but no weirder than putting Worcestershire Sauce in a Ceviche, right?

The Chipotles in Adobo Sauce add some spice to the dish, so if you can’t find them and are substituting it with Ketchup then I recommend adding some finely diced Chilis such as Jalapenos or Serrano Peppers to the dish

As always, taste as you go and once you’ve completely happy with the flavor of the Sauce, add the Shrimp. Mix it all well and it’s ready to eat!

The dish is best served slightly chilled, so for the best result I recommend placing the mixed ingredients into the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving. Then, simply spoon a generous amount into some individual serving bowls or plates and enjoy

Santa Fe Shrimp Ceviche Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 Large Shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ½ White Onion, finely diced
• ¼ cup Fresh Cilantro, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup Fresh Parsley, roughly chopped
• Juice of 1 Orange
• Juice of 3 Limes
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tbsp. Chipotle in Adobo Sauce
• 1 tsp. Pickle Juice (eg: canned Bread and Butter Pickles)
• Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Peel and devein the Shrimp (Video on how to do so here) and then set aside. Bring a saucepan filled with water to the boil then season well with Salt
2. Remove saucepan from the heat and then add the Shrimp. Cover and poach for 2 minutes until pink. Immediately strain the Shrimp then run under cold water / ice water to cool then cut into large Chunks and set aside
3. Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix well, finishing with a pinch of Salt. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary
4. Finally, mix through the Shrimp and serve at room temperature, or slightly chilled
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can swap out the Chipotle in Adobo Sauce for Tomato Sauce; you may just need to add some fresh Chilis to get additional heat into the dish
• Try the Ceviche with other types of Seafood. It will work great with White Fish like Snapper or Kingfish
• For the best result, chill the dish for 30 minutes before serving
  
  

This wonderful Santa Fe Shrimp Ceviche offers a fun twist on a classic Ceviche, with the beautiful flavors of the Southwest really shining through. I recommend enjoying this dish as a light appetizer or fresh bite to eat during a warm summer day

For more fun and tasty Seafood Appetizers just like this one, check out these delicious recipes:

• Tuna Tartare with Peas
• Scallops with Garlic Butter Breadcrumbs
• Salmon Sashimi with Scallion Sauce
• Panko Calamari Rings
  
  

Happy Cooking!