Page 10 - Damianos Sotheby's International Realty Magazine Vol. 3

AGENDA CULTURE
Could you identify five typically Bahamian dishes and tell us where your favourite restaurant is to eat them?
The Bahamas is a massive country in distance from one place to the next, with water in between each spot, so it’s not the easiest place to explore exten- sively. However, some things remain constant. The top five classic Bahamian dishes that we still crave once in a while are:
Conch Salad This is the most important dish in the Bahamian lexicon. Basically, it’s a ceviche, but there are some regional differences around The Bahamas. In Grand Bahama, the base is lime juice, onion, hot peppers, tomato and sweet pepper. The conch is chopped small and chunky from a live conch. In Nassau, the base will also include sour orange. In some places, they put mayonnaise in it. We have even had it in Abaco with fruit salad added to it. If you like spice, be sure to ask for “plen- ty pepper.” We have a classic Bahamian conch salad on our menu, and we make it more interesting by freezing the dressing into a disc that sits on top of everything and is blow-torched at the table and dissolves over the food. Not only is it theatri- cal, but the torch actually changes the flavour of the citrus in the dressing, giving it more depth and character than the original.
Boil Fish This is a simple broth-based dish with fresh fish, potato and onions, and some places also have carrots in it. I like that for the variety. The best place to get this is at Sea Spray Marina on Elbow Cay in Abaco. Chef Edden’s is the best.
Conch Fritters The conch is so important to the Bahamian diet that The Bahamas consumes 80% of the conch it produces. Conch fritters can be heavy, greasy balls of dough with nearly nothing in them, but made well they are light, chunky and tasty! My favourites are here at Flying Fish, on Sunday nights for our “Casual Sunday” menu, or at The Chicken Nest in West End Grand Bahama, where they also make a mean conch salad.
Fire Engine Foreigners are usually repulsed by the idea of eating corned beef from a can. However, when it is stewed with tomato, thyme, hot pepper, onion and some- times little crispy potatoes and corn, it’s a flavour bomb. Called Fire Engine, it’s usually served over white rice or grits. My favourite place for this is in the parking lot at Lynden Pindling Airport in Nassau. Look for the little shack like a food truck on the domestic side of the airport.
Chicken Souse It’s funny how most of my classic Bahamian foods are all served around breakfast (this dish is traditionally a hangover cure). A delectable broth with chicken, potato and onion, heavy on hot pepper and lime juice, and with the flavour of allspice, it’s delicious served with another Bahamian favourite, Johnny Cake, which is more of a dense bread than a cake. I’ve enjoyed Chicken Souse across
The Bahamas, and it’s available on every island at most times of the day. On the weekends it’s usually only available in the mornings, as it sells out early due to its hangover-remedy reputation. Chicken Souse with Johnny Cake is a regular on the delicious menu at Green Turtle Club on Green Turtle Cay in Abaco.
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