Simple Shrimp Ceviche (say that 3 times real fast)

This month’s Team Bravo potluck theme was “healthy.” The challenge – how do you make something healthy taste good? My first thought was shrimp, but I didn’t want to do the typical shrimp and cocktail sauce. My mind flashed back to the awesome ceviche I had at Michael Symon’s Lola in Cleveland. So I’m doing a shrimp ceviche, but can’t really see serving it in martini glasses, especially in church. Since I love ceviche with tortilla chips, I thought the idea of wonton cups would add the crunch that I thought it needed.

To save time, I bought pre-cooked deveined shrimp. Based on all of the other prep required, I highly recommend this. If you have not bought them before, you can find the wonton wrappers in the refrigerated produce section of the supermarket. If you are feeding a large group, I recommend doubling the recipe. Enjoy!

Shrimp Ceviche in Wonton Cups

Wonton wrappers (~24 per batch)

1 pound cooked shrimp (approximately 40 size) , peeled and deveined

1 orange, juiced

3 lemons, juiced

3 limes, juiced

8 green onions (whites up to 50% of the green) finely chopped

1 small to medium Serrano pepper, seeded and finely diced

cilantro, stemmed and finely chopped (about 3 tbs, or to taste)

½  cucumber, peeled and cored, and finely diced

1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and diced (¼”)

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Press the wonton wrappers into a coated “mini” muffin pan to form the cups. You will want to make sure that you have them pressed tight at the bottom and sides, and that the corners do not fold back over (covering the “cup”). Bake the cups for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges start to turn a golden brown. Remove and let cool.

Cut the shrimp into approximately ¼” pieces, and transfer to a bowl. Add the orange, lemon, and lime juice, stir well, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, but not more than 8 hours.

Remove the shrimp from the juice mixture with a slotted spoon. This will retain just enough juice to keep it moist. Add the green onion, cilantro, and Serrano pepper into the shrimp mixture and set aside. Do not refrigerate so it can come to room temperature (at least 30 minutes).

Just prior to serving, gently add the cucumber and avocado. Add salt and pepper to taste. Carefully spoon in to a wonton cups and serve immediately.

Today’s lunch – scallops with a Caribbean flair

It’s the end of the week and all I had to work with was 4 oz of frozen small scallops. I was looking for a quick healthy lunch. Thawing the scallops under cold water only takes a few minutes, so what to do? Well I wanted to try out the new spice (coffee) grinder I got for Christmas, so I broke out the coriander and made some great healthy tacos.

Spicy/Sweet Caribbean Scallops

4 oz. thawed scallops

2 tablespoons toasted coriander

2 teaspoons paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

1 mandarin/clementine orange, peeled, sectioned, and diced.

¼ cup salsa

2 tablespoons low fat shredded cheese

2 small hi-carb wheat tortillas

Grind the coriander to a fine grind and combine with paprika and a pinch of salt & pepper. Roll the scallops in the seasoning mix until coated. In a preheated sauté pan with non-stick spray, cook the scallops for about 3 to 4 minutes, turning often, until done. Transfer to a paper towel to dry.

Combine the salsa with the chopped mandarin oranges for a sweet and spicy topping. Divide the scallops and salsa mix on each tortilla and top with low fat shredded cheese, and if you have some lettuce and light sour cream, throw those on as well.

Total calories consumed (without lettuce and sour cream) = 395. Nice!