These Baja Ceviche Tostadas are fresh, light, and crunchy. Hearts of palm, cucumber, onion, tomato, cilantro, jalapeño, and carrots are marinated in lime juice and a splash of olive oil. Served Baja California style on corn tostadas slathered with mayo, and topped with avocado and hot sauce.

two blue plates with tostadas and a jar of mayo

A History

The origin of ceviche is not really known, but there are two theories. One that the Mochica culture of Peru, more than 2000 years ago, prepared a dish very similar to ceviche which consisted in pieces of fish macerated with a fruit called tumbo. With the arrival of the Spanish the fruit was replaced by citrus and onion was added.

ingredients for baja ceviche tostada, hearts of palm, tomato, lime, mayo, tostadas, carrots

The Spanish however argue that the word ceviche comes from the word escabeche, which is actually an Arab dish that the Spanish adapted, then brought to the new world. Where does Mexico fit into all of this?? Mexico did what it does best, it took Peruvian ceviche and gave it a Mexican twist by adding jalapeño, hot sauce, and serving it over tostadas. In fact, for the longest time I thought ceviche was a Mexican dish, until I met someone from Peru and they quickly set me straight!!

from left to right a bowl with chopped hearts of palm, tomatoes added to the bowl, cucumber added to bowl, jalapeño and cilantro added to the bowl

Within Mexico itself there are several types of ceviche: acapulqueño, jalisciense, and sinaloanse. The one we are preparing today is specific to the region of Baja California, and it stands out from the other ones for its use of carrots, pickled jalapeño brine, and being served on tostadas slathered with mayonnaise.

a blue plate with a tostada slathered in mayo

Primal Kitchen Foods

I used the Primal Kitchen Jalapeño and Lime Mayonnaise to make these Baja ceviche tostadas. Which is made without eggs, is keto certified, certified paleo, plant-based, Whole30 Approved®, and sugar-free*. If you want to try it, it is available at your local Whole Foods.

blue plate with a tostada, mayo and ceviche

Ingredients

Hearts of palm- Are found jarred or canned in the canned section of the grocery store. They are basically the core of the a species of palm trees.

Primal Kitchen extra virgin avocado oil – You can also use avocado oil or olive oil.

Pickled jalapeño brine- This is the brine or juice from the cans of jalapeños en escabeche. If this isn’t available to you, you can use lime juice.

Jalapeño- Add as much or as little jalapeño as you can handle. If spicy is not your thing, you can remove the veins and seeds from the jalapeño and rinse it under cold water.