It’s officially that time of year that I like to call ‘patio season,’ because it is usually a perfect 70-75 degrees outside and hasn’t reached the scorching heat of summer yet. When the aforementioned patio weather hits, I like to bust out a menagerie of homemade salsas, guacamole, and my new favorite, Vegan Ceviche.
Traditional ceviche is essentially a seafood cocktail using fresh fish that is marinated or “cooked” in a large amount of lime juice. It also includes tomatoes, onion, cilantro and some form of spice or pepper. To keep this vegan, I used hearts of palm in place of fish, with a little bit of kelp flakes to give it that slightly fishy flavor. The texture of hearts of palm really does resemble that of a flaky white fish, so it works perfectly in this recipe.
The key to making a great ceviche, or truly any cooking, lies within your tools. Nothing is worse than trying to do lots of chopping with a dull knife, so if being in the kitchen is somewhere you frequently find yourself, I recommend investing in a great quality kitchen knife. My personal favorite is the Wustof Classic 8-Inch Cook’s Knife. I actually purchased this knife for my husbands birthday last year, and it has hands down been one of the best kitchen investments we have made. It makes food prep a breeze, and has barely had to be sharpened since I purchased it, so to me it has been worth every penny.
This ceviche comes together super quick, and is really a good crowd-pleasing dish. Serve this with tortilla chips (I used my favorite Siete grain free tortilla chips), or even in taco shells with a little avocado.
Vegan Ceviche
Author: The Lean Clean Eating Machine
- Two cans hearts of palm; drained and cut into round chunks with half of the chunks cut in half for texture
- 1 1/2 cups diced grape tomatoes
- 1/2 of a small red onion; diced
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro; chopped
- 1 large or 2 small jalapeños; seeds removed and diced
- 1/2 cup cucumber; seeded center removed, quartered, and cut into small chunks
- 2 limes; juiced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kelp granules or dulse flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Cut hearts of palm in circles, and cut half of those circles in half for texture. Place in a large mixing bowl.
- Chop everything else and mix together to thoroughly combine.
- Mix juice of two limes and tablespoon of olive oil in a small dish and whisk together. Pour over the ceviche and stir to thoroughly coat.
- Season with kelp granules and then salt and pepper to taste. Mix to combine and adjust to desired taste.
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge for 1-2 days.