Costa Rican Ceviche Recipe

Ceviche is a marinated seafood salad where raw seafood (usually a firm white fish or shrimp) is "cooked" (or pickled) by sitting in a citrus based juice (usually lime or lemon juice) for several hours.  If you've never eaten ceviche, the concept might sound strange to you.  But once you've tasted a good ceviche, there's no going back!  It is believed that ceviche originated in the coasts of Peru.  Today it is a common dish in just about every Latin American country, including here in Costa Rica.

It seems to me that just about every restaurant and soda in this country, in fact, offers some variation of a Costa Rican ceviche recipe.  Usually you'll get an incredibly fresh batch of ceviche but, be forewarned, there are places where you'll be a little disappointed.  In spite of this, I've become a Costa Rican ceviche addict!  My boyfriend recently made me his uncle's famous Costa Rican Ceviche recipe which is prepared as follows (also see pics below):

Ingredients for this Costa Rican Ceviche Recipe:
1/2 pound of raw corvina (white sea bass or other firm white fish) cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups lemon, lime or limon mandarina juice (squeeze enough juice to completely cover and "cook" the fish)
2 stalks of celery minced
1 chile dulce minced (a.k.a. pimientas or pimentones.  If not available where you are, you can use a red sweet pepper instead)
1small red onion (cut in half and then thinly sliced)
1 handful of fresh cilantro finely chopped
1/2 cup of ginger ale
salt and pepper to taste

Add the cubed fish to a large bowl.  Cover with lemon juice, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit in fridge for 1 hour.  Remove bowl from fridge and add all the remaining ingredients.  The ginger ale in this Costa Rican ceviche recipe is not a typical ingredient, but according to my boyfriend's uncle, it is the "secret" ingredient that will give your ceviche that little tangy bite you may sometimes taste in restaurant versions.  Once all the ingredients have been combined, cover the bowl again with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for another 6 to 8 hours (the longer, the better).

Costa Rican ceviche recipes are usually served with plain saltine crackers or boiled green plantain (as shown in final picture below).  In my opinion this healthy, light and tasty dish is best enjoyed with a ice cold beer on the side!


Veggies that will be added to the Costa Rican Ceviche



Slicing Corvina (white sea bass) into 1/2 inch cubes

Limones (limes that will be juiced in order to "cook" the corvina)

Ginger Ale (the "secret" ingredient in this Costa Rican ceviche)

The final product, served the next day with boiled green plantain slices on the side

FOR MORE COSTA RICAN RECIPES CHECK OUT:

Costa Rican Typical Foods, by Carmen de Musmani and Lupita de Weiler

Gallito Pinto: Traditional Recipes From Costa Rica, Zona Tropical Publications