Not Quite Cinco de Mayo, But Close Enough for Shrimp and Mango Ceviche

So I know this week is supposed to celebrate the Mexican battle victory, and that you usually see a bevy of authentic Mexican foods on May 5th, but I didn’t feel like actually heating up the kitchen with the stove (it’s just too hot outside). So I broadened the definition of ‘Mexican food’ to include some other Latin cuisines. What I ended up with was Shrimp and Mango Ceviche and a side of Black Bean Salad for Cuatro de Mayo (sorry, but I have to work on the 5th).

After looking through the freezer, I had narrowed the ceviche choices down to either shrimp or tilapia (I didn’t think that salmon ceviche sounded all that appetizing – and even less authentic than the ceviche concept itself). I think the tilapia would have worked fine, but settled on the shrimp because I thought it would retain its shape better in the citrus juice. By the time I had it plated, it looked much more expensive than the 6 bucks I spent on four servings – and more importantly, it tasted like more than $6.

The black beans were a nice compliment to the sharpness of the ceviche. I purposely used less dressing with the beans than I would normally in a salad – just because I knew the ceviche would be so sharp to begin with.

Of course, if money weren’t an issue, I probably would have used sushi-grade tuna instead, but for farm raised and frozen, the shrimp was OK. You just have to be really careful when you’re eating raw fish – you don’t want to take any chances. I mean, if you’re going to be sick on Cinco de Mayo, then it should be because of the excess of Coronas you drank, right?