This recipe can easily be converted to vegan by substituting 2-3 Cups of cooked black beans for the shrimp.

• 1-1/2 lbs cooked, peeled large or jumbo Gulf shrimp, cut to bite-size pieces that can be scooped with a tortilla chip
• 4 large salad tomatoes or 8 Roma tomatoes, chopped to bite-size pieces with knife, not in a blender or food processor.  Pieces need to be small enough to scoop with a chip
• 8 Tablespoons lime juice (small limes yield about 1 Tablespoon juice per lime)
• 8 Tablespoons lemon juice (medium lemons yield about 2 Tablespoons juice per lemon)
• a heaping 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (regular vinegar will do)
• 2 purple onions, cut into quarters (small to medium size)
• 1/2 can Rotel original tomatoes and chiles, about 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons
• 1 6-oz. jar sliced Spanish or salad olives (the green kind, stuffed with pimentos)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon celery seeds
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 medium to large jalapeño peppers
• 1 teaspoon gumbo filé (dried, powdered sassafras leaves, a spice discovered by American Indians)
• 3-4 large avocados, cut to bite size pieces that will fit on a chip

Save avocado peeling and slicing until just before serving for freshest taste.

Place olives, onions, jalapeño peppers, cilantro leaves, vinegar, Rotel, olive oil, celery seeds, pepper, oregano, and file into a food processor and chop fine.  Add lemon and lime juices and mix briefly.  Pour all this over the shrimp.  Cut the tomatoes and gently blend into the shrimp mixture.  Refrigerate overnight of for several hours for flavors to blend.  Cut avocados and gently stir into ceviche.  Serve with fresh fried tortilla chips.

Serves 20 (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup per serving)

To increase the quantity, you can double the shrimp and avocados without changing any of the other ingredients.

Carlyn Foshee Chatfield

Based on a recipe by Susan Francis in the cook book, “Texas on the Halfshell”
Note: original ceviche is made with raw fish or seafood.  The overnight marinade in citrus juices “cooks” the raw meat and the juices are poured off before adding chopped vegetables. Carlyn prefers to take no chances and uses only cooked shrimp, which means the marinating time can be shortened and the juices can remain in the dish.

Half and Half Ceviche: Shrimp and Black Bean

For a neighbor’s crawfish boil, I made the ceviche base but omitted the shrimp. Dividing the base into two containers I created one with shrimp and one that was vegan.

• Shrimp half: 2 Cups cooked and cleaned shrimp (40-50 count).
• Vegan half: 1-1/2 Cups cooked black beans, rinsed.