Prawn Ceviche Tostadas

I recently spent about two-seconds in Los Angeles in order to attend Mutineer Magazine’s Red Carpet Tasting. We flew in from Barcelona and aside from hitting up the Falcon Club for the party did not leave the hotel the entire time opting to sleep as much as humanly possible. We did manage to drag our muddled carcasses down to the hotel restaurant where we split a dish of lime, avocado and shrimp “salsa” (was nothing like salsa). What they actually served is more similar to a Mexican coctel only without the tomato based liquid. It was pretty good as far as hotel food goes, but I had expected more than a few sad pieces of avocado since it is one of the title ingredients.

What I loved about this dish was the fresh, light way the dish was presented. It was delicious and I felt good eating it. When I got home I set to creating my own version and it eventually evolved into the Prawn Ceviche Tostadas you see here. I used lime as the cooking liquid and flavored it with garlic, onions, jalepeno and oregano. This combination combined with the prawns and veggies was fantastic spooned over crispy fried corn tortillas, wrapped in crispy lettuce or even served on its own.

For those of you who don’t like the idea of eating raw prawns, the citric acid does cook it, albeit in a slightly unconventional way. If that is not comforting to you than cooking your shrimp ahead of time is acceptable, just do not under any circumstances overcook it.

Enjoy!

On another note, I am on Facebook and Twitter, so if you are too look me up!

Also, those of you in or around L.A. should definitely check out Manila Machine the first Filipino food truck in L.A. run by fellow food blogger and Mutineer Magazine contributor Marvin of Burnt Lumpia. If you need a little more persuading all I have to say is;”Sweet calamansi beef, achara slaw, and spicy sriracha mayo on a pan de sal roll”. Sounds like a little piece of heaven to me.

Oh, and once again the photo is my own feeble attempt to shoot my food. I really can’t wait until Phil is back in photographer mode. The hipstamatic just didn’t cut it for this dish.

Prawn Ceviche Tostadas

Juice of 3-4 Limes, (try to find nice juicy ones)

1 Garlic Clove

1/4 to 1/2 an Onion, diced relatively small

1 Jalepeno, seeded and minced or 2 TBS Hot Sauce

2 tsp Dried Oregano Leaves, crush in your palms

Sea Salt, to taste

Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

1 lb. Very Fresh Prawns, cleaned and sliced in half from top to tail (quality counts here)

2-3 cups Grape or Jewel Tomatoes, sliced two or three times

1 cup Jicama, diced

1 Avocado, diced

A good hefty handful of Shredded Cabbage

12-16 Corn or Flour Tortillas, fried until crispy and drained (do not do these in advance)

Creme Fraiche, to dollop on top

Combine the lime juice, onion, garlic, jalepeno, prawns, sea salt and pepper in a large bowl, stirring to coat. Refrigerate for one to two hours stirring frequently.

After the allotted time, add in the prepared veggies, stirring to coat and checking for seasoning and adjusting to taste. Using a slotted spoon to allow excess juice to escape, top the crispy tortilla with the ceviche, garnish with creme fraiche and serve.

Note: Do not under salt this dish, trust me it will be a disappointment.