Conch Curry

Lovely Meal

Conch is widely eaten in the Caribbean islands. Its taste when cooked is similar to calamari, is slightly sweet, and very tender if prepared correctly.  

They are easy to pick up from the grassy seabeds that they live on - thereafter, they are a real pain to prepare for eating. They have to be extracted from their shell, then cleaned and trimmed so that you are left with a solid piece of white muscle - the mess if you don't know what you're doing is incredible.

So, if you can, buy conch ready prepared from a local fisherman.

In the Pacific, Oysters and Giant Clams are cooked in a similar way.

SERVES 2

Preparation Time:  10 Minutes if the conch is already prepared, otherwise an hour!
Pressure Cooking Time:  10 minutes

1/2 lb prepared white conch meat 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, chopped 1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 pint coconut milk  1 green pepper, roughly chopped
1 large tblsp Thai curry paste  1 tblsp dried Thyme

 1 small scotch bonnet pepper (optional)

Slice the conch lengthways into thin slices. Place into a plastic Ziplock bag, and pound with a rolling pin or steak hammer until the meat has been tenderised.

Heat a little cooking oil in the pressure cooker and lightly fry the onions until translucent. Add the conch and cook for a couple of minutes, turning a few times.

Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to pressure, and cook for 10 minutes.

Serve with fried plantains and boiled rice.