We had our first heat wave in Boston this week, so it was time to throw together one of my favorite cold dinners: ceviche.

Ceviche is a great dish because it’s so quick and easy to prepare, refreshing and delicious, and actually good for you. The only caveat: you have to do your preparations far enough in advance that your citrus has the time it needs to “cook” the seafood.  I usually prepare it in the morning to eat that night (6-8 hours later).

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of seafood (my favorite to use is sole, but flounder, tilapia, shrimp, and calamari work well too), cut into thin, small pieces
• the juice of 7 limes and 1 lemon
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1/2 vidalia onion, diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1-2 jalapeño peppers (optional)
• 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

The instructions couldn’t be simpler: just slice the seafood in small pieces, chop the vegetables and cilantro, juice your citrus fruits, then throw everything together in a big bowl and put it in the refrigerator to cook.