Cauliflower Ceviche

Traditionally, ceviche is made from raw seafood that is marinated in citrus juice with onions, chili peppers and salt. In this recipe, I've replaced the seafood with cauliflower and added corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, mango and cilantro.  

You start with a beautiful cauliflower.

Remove any leaves and the stem, and then chop it into pea sized pieces along with some red onion.

I mixed the juice of two limes with some salt and poured it over the chopped cauliflower and onion.  You can get creative here, and use the juice of one lemon and one lime or even add a little fresh orange juice.

Then, I added chopped fresh tomatoes.  I like to use cherry tomatoes this time of year, when I don't have fresh ones from my garden.  In the off-season, I find that the cherry tomatoes taste better.

I also added some chopped cucumber, fresh mango and some corn.  If you're making this when fresh corn on the cob is not available, just use frozen.  I rinsed it in a little warm water to defrost it and squeezed out the excess water.

I recommend that you add a chopped chili pepper of your choosing.  I'm allergic to peppers, so I left it out.  Do remember to remove the seeds if you don't like extremely hot food.

The idea is to chop everything so that it's all about the size of a pea.  Mix everything together so that it's all well coated with the lime juice.  Cover and refrigerate the mixture for several hours before serving.  The lime juice "cooks" the cauliflower making it softer and closer to the texture of seafood.  

I served the cauliflower ceviche on little "slider" corn tortillas that I grilled on the flame of my gas stove.  About 10 seconds on each side, be sure to use tongs to flip them, not your fingers.

Garnish them with avocado and maybe a little more fresh lime.  Delicious!  A friend of mine, who lives in Mexico, inspired this dish with a posting on Facebook, thanks Marilyn!

Cauliflower Ceviche

12 small "slider" sized servings, 6 standard corn tortillas

Use organic ingredients whenever possible, especially when using corn products

1 large cauliflower (3 cups chopped)

1/2 cup chopped red onion

2-3 limes depending on their size

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup chopped tomato

1/2 cup chopped cucumber

1/2 cup chopped fresh mango

1/2 cup fresh corn removed from the cob or use defrosted frozen corn that you've squeezed to remove excess water.

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 avocados, peeled and sliced

12 slider sized corn tortillas or 6 regular sized ones

(optional: 1 chopped chili pepper, seeds removed)

Remove the leaves and stem of the cauliflower and chop into pea sized pieces.

Stir in the chopped onion.

Juice the limes and stir in the salt.

Pour the lime juice mixture over the cauliflower and stir.

Add the tomato, cucumber, mango, corn and cilantro.

Stir well to coat everything with lime juice and salt.

Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Warmed or toast your tortillas on a griddle or over your gas flame.

Put a heaping spoonful of the ceviche on each tortilla and garnish with avocado slices.