SHRIMP CEVICHE

Steps:

• Slice the ends off the cucumbers, then slice four strips lengthwise. The goal here is to get strips of cucumber with no seeds. Cut each strip into smaller (approximately 1/4") strips using a small, sharp knife.
• Using a chef's or santoku knife, dice the cucumber strips into 1/4" cubes.
• Place diced cucumber into a large, sealable bowl. Discard the center portion of the cucumbers.
• Dice each of the three bell peppers similarly, using as much of the flesh as possible. Add to bowl.
• Cut a large red onion in half, peel it, and place the flat side down on a cutting board. Cut off the top and bottom, then using your small knife, make a series of parallel cuts 1/4" apart, perpendicular to the top/bottom cuts. The use your chef's knife to cut perpendicularly to THESE cuts and you'll have perfectly diced onions. Add to bowl.
• Finally, dice the chili pepper. Care should be taken not to add seeds to the ceviche.
• If using fresh limes, zest one or two and add the lime zest to the bowl.
• Rinse peeled, deveined, and butterflied raw shrimp and put in a large Ziploc bag. Pour in approximately 2/3 c lime juice. You can add a bit of lemon juice here, too, if desired, but lime should be predominant. If using fresh lime juice, you can throw a couple of the juiced lime halves into the bag as well. Seal and lay flat in the refrigerator.
• Finely chop the fresh cilantro, reserving enough whole leaves for garnish. Add chopped cilantro to bowl.
• Seal bowl and shake vigorously to thoroughly mix all ingredients. Open and add the remaining lime juice. Reseal and refrigerate.
• The chemical "cooking" process begins immediately and usually takes several hours. I like the lime flavoring to be fairly pronounced, so I let the process carry on overnight. You'll want to flip the bag and shake the bowl a couple of times during the process.
• The shrimp can be served whole (as pictured) or chopped into large pieces and incorporated into the ceviche.
• Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve with fresh tortilla chips or thinly sliced, toasted baguette bread.