Ceviche

From Xiomara Restaurant, LA

This week’s “stolen” recipe for ice-cold fresh scallops and shrimp in a three citrus marinade, topped with avocado, tomato, and cilantro is a refreshingly delicious offering from owner and proprietor Xiomara Ardolina of Xiomara Restaurant, Los Angeles. Ximomara features nuevo Latino cuisine showcasing the foods of Cuba, Spain, Central and South America, infused with the techniques of French cooking.
Signature dishes include today’s recipe for Ceviche, and Spicy Duck Ropa Vieja, Chilean Sea Bass on Corn Guizo and Spicy Lamb Shank in Cast Iron Casserole. Authentic assortments of Cuban breads are made on premises.
The dining room at Xiomara is designed with a feel of old Havana, casual tables and chairs are scattered outside for al fresco dining. Indoors, guests may choose a table in the main dining room below the whispering hum of ceiling fans or climb the wrought iron stairway to the mezzanine for a balcony table overlooking the room. Throughout the restaurant the focus is on the massive wooden bar where Xiomara has installed a state-of-the-art machine that presses fresh sugar cane into sweet juice for her signature cocktail, the Mambo. Ardolina created the Mambo - rated as the best Mojito in the city and the only Mojito blended with fresh cane juice – in homage to the old Campesinos of Havana, who enjoyed a daily ritual of rum and fresh cane juice for their well-being.
The Ceviche needs to marinade overnight – so plan accordingly!

About the chef: Xiomara Ardolina’s story is a classic tale of a first generation immigrant who left her motherland seeking freedom, personal success and the American Dream in the United States. She was born in Cuba, and grew up under the restrictive Castro regime.
By twenty, she was married and living with her new husband in San Diego, dreaming of having her own business. With a five thousand dollar loan from her mother, she opened her own delicatessen, Paul’s Sandwich and Deli in La Cañada, north of Pasadena. The deli flourished and only a few years later, Xiomara, by now a divorced mother to six-year-old Melissa, was able to buy her very first home with her own money earned from the restaurant.
In 1979 Xiomara decided to change her culinary expression from delicatessen to fine dining. Without investors or loans, she personally financed the restaurant’s remodel and created The Epicurean. After twelve prosperous years, a devastating fire destroyed the restaurant and forced Ardolina to seek another location for her business.
Xiomara opened in Old Pasadena in 1991 with a contemporary French style evolved from The Epicurean. Ardolina closely observed the prevailing dining trends in Southern California for the next few years and kept close watch on her investment. By 1996, she was convinced that the cooking at Xiomara should return to her Cuban roots. In 2001 Xiomara added to her string of enterprises with Café Atlantic, a casual Pasadena café serving cafecitos and Cuban-styled dishes throughout the day.
Now running two thriving restaurants and raising her two daughters, Melissa and Alexia, Xiomara moved to a new home in Hancock Park. She spotted the perfect locale for a new Xiomara and went to work, creating her third restaurant, Xiomara on Melrose, again without investors or loans. The pace of overseeing three busy restaurants proved frenetic, and seeking to simplify her life, Ardolina sold both Pasadena businesses by 2007, retaining the new Xiomara, located within walking distance from her home.
With endless energy and enthusiasm, Ardolina has always been the driving force and personality behind her businesses and is always present, charming her guests and working with her loyal staff, many of whom have worked with her more than ten years. As a refugee from an oppressive dictatorship who started with nothing, she has successfully raised her children while also making a significant impact in a male-dominated industry. She enjoys life, spending time with her three dogs, two cats, an African Grey and a canary, and energizing herself by running five miles each day before arriving at the restaurant.

Xiomara Restaurant
6101 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
323 461 0601
www.xiomararestaurant.com

Ceviche is served at Xiomara for $12.50. This recipe makes 4 restaurant servings.

Ceviche Ingredients:
1 lb rock shrimp cut small
¾ lb scallop cut small

Dressing Ingredients:
1 large tomato, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 jalapeño chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped
½ red onion chopped
¾ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup canned tomato juice
1 small bunch of cilantro finely chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Avocado for garnish, cut into large dice

Steal This Recipe® Step by Step Instructions:
Roast the tomato and jalapeño chiles, either under the broiler or over the gas flame, turning frequently with tongs, until charred on all sides.
Peel, seed and chop them in preparation.
Combine the citrus juices and add the shrimp and scallops.
(Marinate overnight in refrigerator).
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined.
Spoon into martini glasses, garnish with avocado and serve.
 

The following nutritional analysis is based on an approximate 6 oz. serving at home.

Nutritional information provided by www.menucalc.com