There is no better way to celebrate summer than with a pile of ice cold ceviche, crisp tortilla chips, extra hot sauce and perhaps a cold drink in hand to wash it all down. This Tilapia ceviche is bright, crisp and so refreshing. Marinated with fresh lime juice and tossed with cucumbers, jalapenos and cubes of avocado, just at the finish.
I have been lucky to always live by a body of water and with that, have grown up with all sorts of seafood dishes. I'll take a bowl of steamed clams any day, thank you!
And with summer at its peak, there is nothing I enjoy more than a bowl of ice cold tilapia ceviche, extra hot sauce, a cold drink and crisp tortilla chips. Maybe with a passion fruit mojito in one hand and ceviche in the other. Sounds glorious, doesn't it?
Tilapia Ceviche
Ceviche is a dish where raw fish marinates with fresh citrus juice, in this case, lemon and lime juice. The acidic citrus gently "cooks" the fish and provides great bright flavor too.
Finely chopped jalapeno, fresh herbs and cubed avocado and cucumber are mixed in right before serving. If those ingredients were added at the beginning of the marinating process, the lime juice would break it down too much, creating. a mushy consistency.
Ceviche Ingredients
- Tilapia Filets: This is a mild white fish that works very well for ceviche. When buying filets, the fish should look fresh, opaque and not have a "fishy" odor.
- Fresh Citrus Juice: it's worth it to squeeze fresh limes. A simple citrus squeezer makes this prep a breeze!
- Tomato: If heirloom tomatoes are in season, use that or a nice deep red roma tomato.
- Sweet Onion: If you can't find sweet onions, which are much more mild than other yellow onions, red onion is a nice option.
- Cucumber: Thin skinned Persian cucumbers have less seeds and stay crisp in the ceviche.
- Avocado: Diced and added right before serving to keep its creamy texture. Adding too early on can make the avocado turn into mush.
- Jalapeño: Minced and if you like the heat, keep the seeds in. Serrano pepper is a nice option as well.
- Fresh cilantro: Is an absolute must in ceviche and also added right before serving.
A Few Tips and Substitutions
- Buy good quality fish that is fresh and has some firmness to it.
- Other fish options for ceviche are sea bass, shrimp and rockfish. All of those options are mild and when cut to the same ½ inch cubes, will marinate and cook in the citrus juice.
- Ceviche can over cook in the lime juice, so will not work well for overnight marinating. Stick to the 2 hour mark so you don't risk "overcooking" the ceviche.
- Add the vegetables and herbs after the marinating has completed so the texture of the vegetables is not altered by the citrus juice.
- Use a glass bowl or other non-reactive bowl for the marinating. The strong citrus juice could react to other metal bowls.
How to Make Tilapia Ceviche
- Prep the Tilapia. Cut out the bloodline and remove any bones, if there are any. Cut tilapia into small bite sized pieces, about ½ inch cubes.
2. Add fish to a glass bowl (I wouldn't recommend using metal because it may react to the citrus) and pour in citrus juice and zest. Make sure that the juice covers all the fish. Then cover the fish with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to let it marinate for 2 hours. Every half hour or so, use a spoon to toss it around.
3. While fish is marinating, chop up the tomato, cucumber, jalapeno and herbs to about the same size as the fish. Add these ingredients right before serving.
4. When the fish is done, it should look opaque and white. Discard most of citrus marinade, leaving about a tablespoon.
5. Stir in all of the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh cilantro and avocado and give the ceviche one final stir and taste.
Serve tilapia ceviche with extra lime sedges and hot sauce.
Love Seafood Recipes? Here are a Few More to Try
Tilapia Ceviche
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ pound tilapia filets cut into ½ inch cubes
- 2 lemons juiced and zest
- 2 limes juiced and zest (total of ¾ cup of juice)
- 1 medium sized tomato seeded and diced
- 1 small jalapeño minced
- ¼ medium sweet onion diced
- 1 Persian cucumber diced (peeled, is optional)
- ½ avocado diced
- Small bunch of cilantro leaves roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Hot sauce as needed
- Tortilla chips for serving
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Prep the Tilapia. Cut out the bloodline and remove any bones, if there are any. Cut tilapia into small bite sized pieces, about ½ inch cubes.
- Add fish to a glass bowl (I wouldn't recommend using metal because it may react to the citrus) and pour in citrus juice and zest. Make sure that the juice covers all the fish. Then cover the fish with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to let it marinate for 2 hours. Every half hour or so, use a spoon to toss it around.
- While fish is marinating, chop up the tomato, cucumber, jalapeno and herbs to about the same size as the fish. Add these ingredients right before serving.
- Stir in all of the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh cilantro and avocado and give the ceviche one final stir and taste.
- Serve tilapia ceviche with extra lime sedges and hot sauce.
Notes
- Buy good quality fish that is fresh and has some firmness to it.
- Other fish options for ceviche are sea bass, shrimp and rockfishAdd the vegetables and herbs . All of those options are mild and when cut to the same ½ inch cubes, will marinate and cook in the citrus juice.
- Ceviche can over cook in the lime juice, so will not work well for overnight marinating. Stick to the 2 hour mark so you don't risk "overcooking" the ceviche.
- Add the vegetables and herbs after the marinating has completed so the texture of the vegetables is not altered by the citrus juice.
Nutrition
This post was originally published June, 2015 and updated June 2022 with added nutritional information and helpful tips.
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