How to make Conch Creole
Conch Creole, a traditional dish in the French Caribbean Islands, also called Lambi Creole, is a tasty dish loved by many islanders.
Conch or Lambi is a large-sized sea snail. As of today, the only place you can find a conch farm is Turks and Caicos.
Conch is a mussel and lean seafood meat that is better enjoyed cooked fresh out of the water. When frozen, it loses its elasticity and can be tough to chew if not prepared correctly.
A few cooking tips
The conch is usually cooked in a pressure cooker for 40 to 50 minutes or cooked on low heat in a heavy bottom pot for 1 hour, 30 minutes, or 2 hours. Many people often create a water base seasoned broth or a milky seasoned broth to cook the conch.
Before cooking, it is recommended to pound the thickest part of the conch with a kitchen mallet or meat tenderizer. Conch meat is best-cooked whole, then cut small or diced.
To make conch creole
To make Conch Creole a mixture of water mixed with lemon juice, garlic, thyme, scallions, and a hot pepper which is optional is needed. After 40 – 50 minutes of cooking in a pressure cooker, the conch is then pan-fried with fresh juicy tomatoes.
A creole sauce is then created with the tomato sauce. Creole sauce is essential to Caribbean Cuisine.
It is prepared with tomato sauce, tomato paste or fresh tomatoes, fresh herbs, and spices. Usually, hot pepper is added for flavor, but it is not necessary.
A delightful dish, Conch Creole is widely enjoyed during special days and holidays.
Enjoy!
Conch Creole
Ingredients
- 4 conch cleaned
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 bouquet garni thyme, parsley
- 3 – 4 juicy tomatoes medium size, or about 1 cup
- 2 scallions chopped roughly
- 4 chives finely chopped
- 1 sprig fresh flat parsley finely chopped
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2 hot peppers Scotch Bonnet or Habanero or 1/4 teaspoon Hot and Spicy Original with Herbs
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion julienned
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Seafood seasoning optional
Instructions
- In a large heavy bottom pot or a pressure cooker, make a court bouillon with the conches, the bouquet garni, 2 scallions, 1 hot pepper, and 1 crushed garlic clove. Cook for about 40 to 50 minutes until fully cooked in a pressure cooker. Boil for a longer period of time on a stovetop if using a heavy bottom pan (this process will take about 1hr 30 mins or 2 hours). Strain the liquid and set aside.
- Cut the conches into pieces. Finely mince the chives and parsley. Crushed the remaining garlic.
- Quarter tomatoes and remove seeds. In a pan, heat oil, add garlic, and minced herbs. Add tomatoes and let cook until the tomatoes have released all their juices. Add conch pieces and let pan-fried for a few minutes. Add conch cooking liquid mixed with lime juice. Add 1 whole pepper, onion, and thyme. Cover and let simmer on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove pepper before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
Why call it creole conch when it’s a Haitian recipe? Creole is the language not the people. When people hear creole they think of Louisiana, not Haiti. This is a Haitian recipe and should be credited to the Haitian people. Haitian Conch!
Thank you for your comment. This is a Caribbean recipe and not a Haitian recipe. Every place you go, the dish or recipe is called Conch Creole because of its origin and the way it is prepared. There may be some variation in spices but it is a Caribbean recipe.
the dish has a place of origin,I find it funny you dismiss a comment by saying that everybody is doing the recipe in the caribbean therefore it can’t be a Haitian recipe.it’s called conch creole to differentiate the Bahamian conch from the Haitian conch
I agree that the dish has its origin. This is not the way every Caribbean person cooks conch – and this goes for most recipes. The name is generalized to make it simple for others to learn about the dish. Interestingly, there are more comments about the way people make Caribbean dishes by others from the Caribbean. But when people from other parts of the world add pineapple to a dish and call it a “Caribbean Dish,” no one will comment – it is acceptable. So sad!