Food transports us. See, the food you eat while traveling enriches more than just your body—it’s simple, complete, and absolute soul food too. It’s wishful escapism in a bite: whisking you away from your cooking routine or a familiar palette, straight into unpretentious and unreplicable flavors abroad. Where your Belize story includes Nanche-spiked flan in a woven white hammock gazing out at The Lodge at Jaguar Reef’s idiosyncratic Hopkins sign, a medley of ginger-y stir-fried veggies overlooking the garden at Blancaneaux Lodge handpicked minutes earlier, or salt-tinged air on the beach of Ambergris Caye for conch fritters at Lily’s Treasure Chest—washed down with a punchy salt-rimmed classic margarita on the rocks. Destination meals are the ones you crave to replicate at home once your tan fades and the honeyed nostalgia intensifies. So before the open season closes, here’s one recipe to keep you craving Belize: crispy, beer-battered Belizean conch fritters.
The Caribbean Sea’s Bounty: Conch
Fresh conch off the shores of Coral Caye.
Ingredients
- 1 pound conch, trimmed and diced
- ¼ cup onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup green bell peppers, deseeded
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1½ cups all-purpose four
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1½ cups Lighthouse Belikin beer, as needed
- Finely diced habanero, to your preference
- Salt & Black Pepper
- Vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
Preheat oil on medium-high heat. In a bowl, add conch, seasonings, vegetables, and toss well. Using a whisk, stream in the light beer, about ¼ cup at a time, until desired consistency. The batter should fall on itself, but hold its shape to a spoon when scooped. Using a tablespoon or mini-ice cream scoop, add conch fritter batter one at a time to preheated oil and fry for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Serve with tartar sauce or a sweet sauce, like Chef Sean Kuylen's cocktail base.
Chef Sean Kuylen's Cocktail Sauce:
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 8 basil leaves, in a chiffonade
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
- 2 tablespoons red or orange Fanta
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Mix well, and serve with warm Belizean conch fritters.
