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Dine Bahamian
Three dishes & a drink
Down-home Bahamian dishes are as varied as they are delicious. Here are three standbys that can be duplicated when you return to the land of ice and snow.
You may have to substitute some of the ingredients you can find easily in The Bahamas but perhaps not so easily back home. A tin of clams or fresh shrimp can be used in place of conch, for example, when making conch fritters for an appetizer.
Many families enjoy easy-to-prepare grouper cutlets, usually served with peas ’n rice, a staple throughout the islands. The following recipes will yield a taste of the semi-tropics, even when the cold north wind is blowing a gale outside.
Conch fritters
1 cup sifted flour
1 tsp salt
1⁄4 tsp black pepper
1⁄2 tsp thyme
1⁄4 cup conch liquid (or water)
1⁄4 cup milk
2 eggs, well beaten
5 conchs, medium ground
1⁄8 cup minced green pepper
Red pepper to taste
Add salt, black pepper, conch liquid, milk and eggs to flour and stir until well blended.
Add ground conch, red and green peppers and thyme and mix well.
Drop dollops from large round tablespoon into hot fat and deep fry five minutes or until brown.
Drain on absorbent paper. Serve hot with favourite dips. Makes four dozen.
Grouper cutlets
3lbs grouper filets
4 sour oranges or lemons
1 egg
1⁄4 cup evaporated milk
1⁄2 cup flour
1⁄2 cup cooking oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Season grouper with salt and pepper and marinate in juice of sour oranges or lemons for about three hours.
Combine egg and evaporated milk and beat until fluffy. Dip fillets into mixture and roll in flour.
Heat oil in a heavy iron skillet and fry grouper until brown on both sides (about 15 mins). Serves four to six.
Peas ’n rice island style
1⁄2 cup salt pork (or bacon)
1⁄2 cup diced onion
1⁄2 tsp thyme
1⁄2 tsp salt
1⁄4 tsp cayenne
1⁄2 tsp black pepper
1⁄4 cup diced green pepper
3⁄4 cup whole stewed tomatoes
1⁄4 cup tomato paste
1⁄2 cup canned pigeon peas
1 cup water (or 1⁄2 cup water & 1⁄2 cup juice from pigeon peas)
11⁄2 cups rice
Cut salt pork into small pieces, fry in saucepan until golden and drain off fat, leaving about three tbsp.
Add onion, thyme, salt, green pepper, black and cayenne pepper. Saute five mins.
Add tomatoes and simmer five mins, then add pigeon peas, tomato paste and water. Simmer five mins, stirring occasionally.
Mix in rice and let simmer over low heat 35 to 40 mins. Stir and serve. Serves six.
A Bahamian cocktail
What’s a Bahamian meal without a tropical cocktail? There are many to choose from, including a Bahama Mama, a Yellow Bird and the ubiquitous Sky Juice, sometimes called Gully Wash. But for this meal, we recommend a Goombay Smash.
The Goombay Smash was invented by the late “Miss Emily” Cooper at her Blue Bee Bar at New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay, Abaco. This rustic little bar has served a long list of celebrities, including Jimmy Buffet, Willie Nelson and the former US First Lady, Lillian Carter. The ingredients are a closely held family secret, but here’s a popular version of Miss Emily’s speciality.
Goombay Smash
11⁄4 oz gold or dark rum
1⁄2 oz coconut liqueur
3 oz pineapple juice
2 dashes lemon juice
1 dash simple syrup
1⁄4 oz triple sec
Shake and serve over cracked ice in a tall glass. Garnish with cherry and sliced lemon or orange wedge.
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Dine Bahamian
Three dishes & a drink
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