Aguachile

Ingredients

• 200g Shrimps
• 5 Lemons
• 1 Onion
• 1 Cucumber
• 1 Avocado
• Jalapeños
• Cilantro
• Black pepper
• Grated garlic
• Mayonnaise
• Crackers

Variations

• You can replace or mix Jalapeños with Rocoto, Habanero, Chiltepín, ... pretty much any chili pepper you can find. If you don't like spicy dishes stick with Jalapeños or, god forbid, only Black Pepper (won't be as good though!).

• Crackers should be flat and long, because they'll be used as platforms to transport the aguachile to your mouth. I have tried different types of crackers and the ones I like the most are salty without other spices.

• Cilantro is a controversial ingredient. Some people say it tastes like soap, and it seems to come down to genetic predisposition. If you don't know whether you like it or not, give it a test run with some avocado and a squirt of lemon juice on top of a cracker.

• You can make the dish vegetarian replacing Shrimps with Heart of Palm, Mushrooms or Cauliflower. Although I haven't tried it myself.

Preparation

1. Start by peeling the shrimps into a bowl and proceed to drown them in the squeezed juice of lemons. Add to this pepper, grated garlic and minced jalapeños. Mix it together and store the bowl in the fridge for the rest of the recipe. You'll continue adding ingredients, but you should keep the bowl in the fridge so that the dish is ready once you're done mixing everything.

2. Chop the onion and mince it in relatively small pieces, but not too small. When you're done take the bowl out of the fridge for a second, mix the onion, and put it back into the fridge. Repeat this process with the cucumber and the avocado.

3. After adding the avocado you're done with the basic recipe, the only thing that's left is adding cilantro and serving. To serve it, keep it inside of the bowl and provide your guests with spoons and crackers. The idea is that each person will use a spoon to load the mixture on top of the crackers and season with mayonnaise before proceeding to eat them. One additional tip for spice lovers is to mix the mayonnaise with chipotle beforehand (you're welcome). If you don't like the idea of everyone sharing the same bowl, divide the mixture in individual bowls to be consumed in the same way.

4. Send me pictures of the end result!