Baby Bay Scallop Ceviche

Each year I come up a different theme for my Boxing Day Dinner Party and this past year I decided on Mexican.  When putting together my menu of wonderful tasty items for my guests, I really wanted to give Ceviche a try as I had never made it before.  It didn’t even make it onto my printed menus in case it didn’t turn out.   It is surprisingly easy and I have to say I thought this simple dish was super.  I also got great compliments from everyone who tasted it and even commented that it was as good as a restaurant dish.

Baby Bay Scallop Ceviche

For those that are not sure what Ceviche is.  It is raw seafood cooked in lime juice and it is delicious.

Ceviche
I doubled this amount for 8 people but this is the servings for 4.  This recipe requires the dish either being started the night before or a good 8 hours in advance.
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
1 pound fresh bay baby scallops
8 limes, juiced
2 tomatoes, diced
5 green onions, minced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/8 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
Rinse scallops and place in a medium sized bowl. Pour lime juice over the scallops. The scallops should be completely immersed in the lime juice. I realized my very well-stocked kitchen is missing a juicer, even a hand juicer.  I cannot tell you how much my hand ached after squeezing 16 limes  Juicer is now on my shopping list.

Chill the lime juice and scallops all day or overnight until scallops are opaque (you cannot see through them).

Empty 1/2 of the lime juice from the bowl. Add tomatoes, green onions, celery, green bell pepper, parsley, black pepper, olive oil, and cilantro to the scallop mixture. Stir gently. Serve this dish in fancy glasses with a slice of lime hanging over the rim for effect.  I used a mix of different, fun martini glasses.