Conch fritter

Lisa Lotts publishes Joe Cascio’s island-style conch fritters, a Bahamian-associated preparation of chopped conch in a vegetable batter. This selected version uses Scotch bonnet, beer and club soda and is served on its own.

The conch thaws and is patted dry with paper towels. The rough side of a meat mallet pounds it, and a sharp chef’s knife minces it before a food processor chops it finer. The whole Scotch bonnet and half the celery are pulsed with the conch.

The remaining vegetables are minced. In a medium bowl, the rest of the celery combines with Spanish onion, green and red bell peppers, eggs and fresh thyme. In a small bowl, flour, baking powder, curry powder, salt and supplied fresh-cracked black pepper are whisked together.

Beer and club soda are stirred into the dry mixture to make a thick batter. The vegetable mixture is stirred in first, followed by the conch mixture, with further stirring to distribute it evenly.

Peanut oil heats in an electric deep fryer. A cookie scoop portions the batter into the oil in batches. The fritters cook with occasional turning until golden, then a spider transfers them to a baking sheet lined with brown paper grocery bags to absorb excess oil. They are served without a dipping sauce.