Supposed to be Conch Ceviche
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Author Notes: About a thousand years ago, on a cruise, I watched a dockman pull up a mesh bag of conch from the water, crack one open, hack it up and squeeze a variety of fresh citrus over it. He sprinkled some spices over top and handed it to me. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever eaten. I figured I would try and re-create it here. Now, the closest body of salt water from Colorado is, well, I guess if you want to be technical about it, it’s the Great Salt Lake in Utah. But the closest place you’re likely to find conch is several thousand miles away. This is a (mostly) accurate accounting of my conversation with Chris, the fish monger at my local Whole Foods:
Me: Hi Chris, it's Rachael. Do you have any conch?
Chris: Nope, sorry.
Me: Can you order any?
Chris: Hang on. (mumblemumblemumble). Uh, Rachael?
Me: Yes Chris?
Chris: We can order it, but.....(trailing off).
Me: But what?
Chris: It's 35 dollars a pound.
Me: Oh.
Chris: And you have to order it in 5 pound blocks
Me: Oh.
Long Silence.
Me: How are your scallops looking today?
- Niknud
Food52 Review: One bite of Niknud’s Supposed to be Conch Ceviche transports you to a sunny clime; a prescription to cure your winter blues could not be easier. Clean and bright, you bathe the scallops in a symphony of citrus juices, each imparting a slightly different note. Anchored by the bitter grapefruit, lime adds a tart punch, while orange complements the sweet shellfish. Jalapeno, red onion, avocado and orange segments add contrast in texture and flavor that make it difficult to stop eating. When enjoyed atop a crisp cracker or chip, as I did, it is easy to make a meal of this dish. I did add a pinch of salt at the end; to my palate, it sharpened the contrast in flavors. One note: I used fresh sea scallops instead of bay scallops and cut them into quarters. This added to the “cooking” time. Instead of 75 minutes, mine took a little over two hours. - gingerroot
Serves 4-6
- Juice of 1/2 grapefruit
- Juice of 1 orange
- Juice of 4 limes
- 12 ounces Bay scallops
- 2 Oranges, segmented (the fancy way)
- 1/3 cup Diced red onion
- 1 Jalapeno, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds and ribs removed and sliced into thin half-moons
- Zest of 1 lime
- 1 Avocado, diced
- 1/3 cup Torn cilantro leaves
- Combine the first three ingredients in a bowl and add the scallops. Cover and refrigerate until the scallops are 'cooked' through, stirring occasionally. Took mine about 75 minutes.
- While you're waiting for the scallops to be done, combine the red onion, segmented oranges (no bother if the juice drips in the bowl while your segmenting), lime zest and jalapeno.
- When the scallops are done, add them to the bowl (feel free to add a little extra citrus juice of your choice here if it seems a little dry) and stir. Gently fold in the avocado and cilantro. Add salt and pepper if you like - I didn't.
- Thoughts: Didn't have time to try this version out, but I was noodling around in my brain with a Thai version as well. Use only lime juice with some sugar and a splash of fish sauce to 'cook' the scallops. Replace the jalapeno with thin rounds of those blazing hot thai finger peppers. Use thinly sliced shallots instead of red onion. Use mint instead of cilantro. Omit the avocado.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Citrus Recipe
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over 1 year ago sl(i)m
Cannot WAIT to try this.
over 1 year ago Niknud
Thanks! Please let me know how it turns out!
over 1 year ago sdebrango
Suzanne is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Got a much needed laugh from the headnote, you never fail to entertain, oh and the recipe sounds wonderful even with scallops instead of the conch, Nice!
over 1 year ago sdebrango
Suzanne is a trusted source on General Cooking.
and segmenting the oranges the fancy way, you crack me up!
over 1 year ago Niknud
I know there's some sort of technical term for it, but it eluded me at the time and, frankly, I just didn't have the energy to google it. I figured pretty much everyone would know what I meant! Glad you liked the headnote - I've been crazy busy lately and haven't had as much time to participate in F52 as I've wanted but I was hell-bent on entering this week!
over 1 year ago LE BEC FIN
hopefully the editting will work itself out. i certainly did my share of it for my entries. you have to remember not to click the contest name on your edited page, or the photo entry will duplicate itself.
bnut i really wrote you to say how much i enjoy laughing. and you are a funny girl! thanks much for the chuckles and the exc recipe.
over 1 year ago Niknud
My pleasure! Happy to provide a few laughs - my crazy adventures in cooking always end up a little different from where I intended them to go!
over 1 year ago Niknud
Sigh. Missing ingredients and can't seem to comment...I'll try this again.... The following ingredients should be shown above: 12 oz bay scallops, zest of 1 lime, 1/3 cup diced red onion, 1 jalapeno halved lengthwise with seeds/ribs removed and sliced into thin half-moons, 2 oranges segmented the fancy way, 1 diced avocado.
over 1 year ago Niknud
Ingredients not showing up. Editing futile. The following ingredients should be included: 12 oz bay scallops, zest of 1 lime, 2 oranges segmented (the fancy way), 1 jalapeno sliced lengthwise with the ribs/seeds removed and sliced into thin half-moons, 1/3 cup diced red onion, 1 diced avocado.