I was recently in Bimini, the Northernmost Island of the Bahamas, where it is a rite of passage, so to speak, to try the Conch Salad while there. You can find conch shells literally in every nook and cranny of this island that is only 50 miles from Fort Lauderdale, as conch salad is served at every watering hole on the island. The shells are a result of the island’s main attraction, second only to the sportfishing and Kalik Beer.
In essence, Conch Salad is merely ceviche made with conch instead of shrimp or white fish. Ceviche is a Latin American favorite that consists of a white fish or shrimp salad that has been cooked by the acid of the lime and lemon juice it is marinated in. Conch salad consists of chopped up conch, plenty of lime juice, chopped onions, green and red peppers and garlic salt. Pretty simple really.
The Latins all have their own version of ceviche and there are two basic bases: white base (citrus) or red base (ketchup). The Ecuadorians tend to do the Ketchup version, and I have learned that more often than not they do parboil the fish or shrimp first, then use a ketchup and citrus base. In the Peruvian Style, it is typical to find cooked sweet or white potatoes, corn or maize as an addition.
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Conch Salad, Bahamian Ceviche
Ingredients
- Lime/Lemon/juice
- chopped onion
- chopped chili peppers
- white fish
- white vinegar (2-2 tblespoons)
Instructions
Marinate the fish in the citrus mixture for at least 3 hours to let the fish cook in the juices. My Costa Rican friends add garlic, tomato and cilantro to their mixture. My friend Silvia adds chopped avocado as a garnish to her traditional Peruvian (BASIC) ceviche.
Ceviche is a healthy and lite dish for hot summers. Put your own spin on this recipe and please share your specialty recipes with me!!
Notes
My friend Erin lived in Nicaragua for a while and reminded me that the white vinegar is good to add as it balances the citrus taste and also helps kill any bacteria that might get you sick.
Hey!! If you ever sail to Freeport (Grand Bahama Island), there is a place on Taino Beach called Tony Macaroni's Conch Experience…so fresh, so good. And Tony is a trip…right on the beach with a view that is breathtaking…
A nice recpe idea you have here. I am always looking for more ideas to keep the kids entertained with and this one might just do the trick so thank you for sharing it.
HI Vicki,
Ceviche is really popular down here in South Florida with all of the Latin Influence. With some google searching you can find even more interesting variations of Ceviche. Thanks for your feedback and happy cooking! Regards, Robyn aka grillgrrrl 🙂
Tony Macaroni’s! We were just there a few months ago. We keep going back to Grand Bahama for many reasons, but #1 is the conch salad!
Keep up the great posting.
I don’t read many blogs, but yours is of the
Thanks for the feedback! Have a great 2010!
Karen- thanks for sharing! I LOVE conch salad too!! It’s the best!!!
I hope you would not mind if I put up a part of this site on my univeristy blog?
no problem, go for it!
This recipe is not an authentic Bahamian Conch Salad, is should be named my version of conch salad. We dont add no vinegar and no red chili pepper.
BAHAMIAN Conch Salad(AUTHENTIC) is:
Conch (not fish)
Lime/Lemon(some add a squeeze of orange if it to acidic)
Salt(Bimini uses garlic salt)
Goat Pepper(optional)
Onion
Tomatoes
Green bell pepper
Anything after that is the persons personal version. We don’t let it marinate, soon as it’s served you can eat it
Thanks for your feedback Ms Sarcastic. Cheers, ~ Robyn