The summer before I started cooking professionally, a friend and I spent three months on a sailboat in the Bahamas. Hey, it was tougher than it sounds! Every day we had to catch our dinner with spears, no less. If we didn’t get a fish or lobster, one thing we could always count on was finding conch. They were and are delicious, but man, are they labor-intensive, as it’s hard to extract the meat from their shells. These fritters, which are easy enough to stir together on a sailboat and are served all over the Bahamas, are so delicious that we didn’t (and you won’t) much mind the work, especially as your conch meat will already be extracted from the shell. Serve them with ice-cold beer, plenty of hot sauce (or my Cat Island Cocktail Sauce), and a creamy Lime Mayonnaise (p. 181) that will help cool the fire. And don’t be surprised if they inspire you to slip into a swimsuit and snorkel mask.

　　

Ingredients

makes 24 to 30 fritters

　　Vegetable oil, for frying (about 1 quart)

　　1 pound fresh or frozen conch meat, finely chopped

　　1/2 large onion, finely chopped

　　2 celery stalks, finely chopped

　　1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

　　1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

　　1/3 cup cornmeal

　　1/3 cup flour

　　1 egg

　　1/4 cup buttermilk

　　Salt

　　Hot sauce

　　

Cat Island Cocktail Sauce

1 mango, peeled, seeded, and diced

　　1/2 cup ketchup

　　Scotch bonnet-based hot sauce, such as Inner Beauty, as you dare

　　

Step 1

Heat 2 inches of oil in a deep skillet or fryer over medium heat until hot but not smoking, approximately 350°F.

　　

Step 2

Meanwhile, mix the conch with the onion, celery, and peppers in a medium bowl. Combine the cornmeal and flour and stir into the conch mixture. In the same bowl that you used for the flour, use a fork to mix the egg and buttermilk together, and stir into the conch-flour mixture. Season to taste with salt and hot sauce.

　　

Step 3

Working in batches and not overcrowding the pot, gently drop the batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil and cook 3–4 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through. Drain and serve immediately with Cat Island Cocktail Sauce, additional hot sauce, and/or Lime Mayonnaise (p. 181).

　　

Cat Island Cocktail Sauce

Step 4

Place the diced mango and ketchup in a blender or food processor; puree until smooth. Add hot sauce to taste and pulse until smooth. You can also serve this feisty sauce with boiled Gulf shrimp, crisp-fried oysters, or scrambled eggs.

　　

note

Step 5

Feel free to substitute equal portions of shrimp or crayfish for the conch—the fritters will be just as tasty.

　　From Crescent City Cooking by Susan Spicer Copyright (c) 2007 by Susan Spicer Published by Knopf.Susan Spicer was born in Key West, Florida, and lived in Holland until the age of seven, when her family moved to New Orleans. She has lived there ever since, and is the owner of two restaurants, Bayona and Herbsaint. This is her first cookbook.Paula Disbrowe was the former Cowgirl Chef at Hart & Hind Fitness Ranch in Rio Frio, Texas. Prior to that, she spent ten years working as a food and travel writer. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Food & Wine, and Saveur, among other major publications.