Bahamian Cracked Conch with Peas and Rice

So, somewhat shockingly, I managed to find conch in Baltimore (well, in Catonsville, but same thing). What's more, it actually tasted pretty decent. That may be because the conch was battered and fried. The taste is actually pretty good, but the texture is...not great. It's kind of like eating a really well-flavored piece of tire. That said, it's really well-flavored, which kind of made it worthwhile. The peas and rice are really good to, but it really was kind of disconnected from the conch. The recipe I used is here.

Ingredients:

 

1 lb conch

for the tempura batter
2 -4 cups water
1 lb flour
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 fresh thyme
1 egg (beaten)

for bahamian peas and rice
1 cup pigeon peas
1 1/2 cups rice
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/2 small ripe tomato, chopped
2 slices bacon or 2 slices salt pork, diced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme

Mix the flour, beaten egg, seasonings and water into a pasty batter. Add the water slowly since the batter should not be too watery but should be of a paste like consistency.

Cut conch/crayfish into thumb-sized pieces then pour the tempura batter over the conch to cover each piece. Deep fry at 350-375 F until golden brown.

Fry bacon or salt pork in a large pan with a tight-fitting lid.

Next, add the onion, pepper, tomato, tomato paste and thyme, then add the peas, salt and pepper to taste.

Next, add 3 cups of water to the mix and bring to a boil.

Next, add rice and stir. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 30.

minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed.

Serve with the conch/crayfish.

 

And this is what it looks like. Really, really tasty. Oh, and then we made funnel cake, because, why not?

 

 

Next up is Bahrain's Machbous Ala Dajaj. Should be pretty tasty.