Salpicón de Mariscos (Seafood Salad)

a white bowl of salpicon de mariscos with a singel serving on a slice of baguette.

5 from 32 votes

Salpicón de Mariscos (Seafood Salad)

This easy salpicón de mariscos (seafood salad) tapa is made with a combination of fresh seafood, crisp bell peppers, cucumber, slivers of onion and the BEST lime vinaigrette. It's delicious to serve at cocktail parties, summer potlucks or as a light lunch.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Chilling time1

Total Time1 25

Course: Appetizer, Salad

Cuisine: Dominican, Latin American, Salvadoran, Spanish

Servings:

Calories: 178kcal

Author: Michele Peterson

Cost: $25

Equipment

1 Knife
1 Bowl
1 Medium Saucepan

Ingredients

1 white onion preferably Spanish
½ English cucumber peeled
½ red bell pepper seeded
½ green bell pepper seeded
12 oz filet of halibut or any firm, white fish
10 oz shrimp raw, peeled and deveined
10 oz squid (octopus or lobster or scallops) raw
12 oz mussels raw
2 Tablespoons lime juice fresh
1 Tablespoons naranja agria bitter orange juice ( or substitute grapefruit and orange juice in equal parts)
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil or light olive oil
2 Tablespoons cilantro finely chopped
1 tsp Sea salt
1/8 teaspoon Black pepper freshly ground

Instructions

Clean and rinse the seafood. Remove any visible bones from the fish, trimming the "beards" off the mussels and discarding any shellfish that has opened.
Peel and slice the onion thinly into slivers. Divide in half.
Submerge one half of the sliced onions into a bowl of ice water. Reserve the remainder to use when poaching the batches of seafood.
Place two cups of water in a saucepan and heat to boiling. Add one third of the reserved sliced onions and 1/8 teaspoon salt to the water. Add the fish filet to the skillet, reduce heat and poach for 3-5 minutes until done.
Once the fish is cooked, remove it from the water with a slotted spoon and place on a separate dish to cool.
Drain the water (or reserve for stock) and replace it with fresh water. Add salt and one third of the sliced onions and poach the squid, octopus, scallops or lobster (or combination of seafood you're using) for 5 minutes.
Remove with a slotted spoon, drain and cool the seafood at room temperature.
Drain the water (or reserve for stock) and replace it with fresh water. Add salt and the final third of the reserved sliced onions, cover and poach the mussels (clams or preferred shellfish ) for 5 minutes or until opened. Discard any that don't open.
Remove the mussel meat from the shells. Cool at room temperature.
Peel the cucumber, seed and dice into small pieces.
Seed and dice the red and green peppers into small pieces.
Whisk the freshly-squeezed lime juice, naranja agria (or a mixture of orange juice and grapefruit juice) and vegetable oil with remaining salt in a large bowl.
Chop the cooked and room temperature fish and seafood into medium-sized pieces. They should be in bite-sized pieces but still recognizable. You can leave the squid rings whole if they're not too large.
Add the seafood to the bowl along with the reserved slivered onions (drained from ice water) with the vinaigrette dressing. Add chopped cilantro and salt and pepper. Toss lightly.
Cover and place in refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.
Remove from the refrigerator. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Serve chilled in individual tapas dishes, with seafood forks and crostini or slices of baguette on the side.

Notes

Much of the magic of salpicón depends on chopping the ingredients in a variety of sizes. Vegetables are minced but the seafood should be cut into pieces that are bite-sized but still large enough that you can identify the shrimp, fish, clams etc. This adds interest and texture to the dish.
Use a sharp knife for the best results.
To make Salpicón a la Gallego, the version that's popular in Galicia, Spain, whisk a teaspoon of Spanish paprika into the vinaigrette.
For salpicón de mariscos Mexicano or Dominicano, add a minced, seeded jalapeño or serrano pepper into the salad for extra kick.
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Nutritional information is created by online calculators so the figures are only estimates.

Nutrition