Shrimp Ceviche Tostadas

December 01, 2016 2 min read

All across the Southwest and West Coast, it's getting the perfect brisk temperature for ceviche tostadas on the patio. In Austin, our home at Siete, we've had a long run of amazing 70º+ days, and ceviche adds the perfect solo of flavor to this symphonic weather.

The key to a great ceviche is the balance between the flavor of the protein and vegetables, acidity, seasoning, and the texture of the dish as a whole––including the all important tostada. You don't want anything to get soggy, but you need it to soak long enough to absorb the citrus and salt that makes ceviche better together than it's constituent parts.

While in a traditional ceviche, you would use an ocean fish like snapper or halibut and flash "cook" it in the acidic element of the dish (usually lime). This requires somewhere between 2-4 hours of marination, but we made the dish with cooked gulf shrimp. This both allows the everyday chef to be more confident, and imbues more of the flavor of Texas to the dish.

It's hard to find a good store-bought tostada, especially not a grain or gluten-free one, but luckily our Siete tortillas crisp up beautifully for the dish. The slight nuttiness of our almond tortillas, in particular, plays off the acidity and strong flavors that are typical of ceviche and adds another layer of depth.