Alejandra Blanco’s Favorite Family-Style Ceviche

Alejandra Blanco is a personal training manager at Life Time in Coral Gables, Fla. Her mother is from Colombia and has a ceviche recipe that Blanco loves — it’s a savory, flavorful combination of healthy ingredients that can easily be prepared ahead of time.

Blanco jokes that her mother’s recipe uses “Hispanic units of measurement” to add herbs and spices to your liking rather than exact measurements. “You can always find a way to make it your own,” she says. “For example, not too much cilantro, as it can get overpowering, and we like to add a tablespoon at a time of ketchup — as much tomato flavor as you like.”

Ingredients:

• 2 onions (yellow or white), diced
• 10–12 limes (shiny, smooth green skin)
• 1 lb. small frozen shrimp, cooked, peeled, and deveined
• 1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
• 2 or 3 tbs. of ketchup (no artificial ingredients or added sweeteners)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Add diced onions to a glass container.
2. Squeeze limes using a handheld citrus juicer into a bowl until the onion is fully covered.
3. Add the cilantro to the lime and onion mixture.
4. Add frozen shrimp to boiling water for about one minute.
5. While the shrimp boils, add ketchup into the onion, lime, and cilantro mixture one tablespoon at a time until you achieve your desired level of tomato flavor.
6. Drain the shrimp using a colander and add it to the rest of the ceviche mixture. Mix well.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Chill for four to five hours prior to serving, or in the refrigerator overnight, to allow flavors to combine.
9. Store in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator for up to eight days.