Bahamian Recipes

Bahamian food starts with the sea. Conch, the large sea snail, is the best known ingredient and turns up raw in a citrus salad, cracked and fried, in fritters, chowder and stews. Spiny lobster, grouper, snapper and crab are other everyday catches. African and British influences meet in dishes such as peas 'n' rice, johnny cake, boiled fish and baked macaroni and cheese. Breakfast can be a peppery, lime-sharp boil fish or souse, eaten with a slice of johnny cake. Heat comes from goat peppers, a local chili, used with a light hand. Sweets include guava duff, a rolled and boiled pudding served with a buttery sauce, and coconut tarts, while sky juice is a street-side drink of coconut water. Fish fry stands by the harbor, Sunday dinners and community cookouts are central to social life.

Staple ingredients

• conch
• grouper and snapper
• spiny lobster
• pigeon peas and rice
• okra
• limes and sour oranges
• coconut
• goat peppers

• Appetizers 1
• Soups 1
• Main Dishes 1
• Side Dishes 1
• Breads 1
• Desserts 1

Appetizers

• Bahamian Conch SaladBS25 minEasy

Soups

• Bahamian Boil Fish (Fish Simmered in Lime Broth)BS50 minEasy

Main Dishes

• Cracked Conch (Bahamian Fried Conch)BS37 minMedium

Side Dishes

• Bahamian Peas 'n' Rice (Pigeon Peas and Rice)BS1 hEasy

Breads

• Bahamian Johnny Cake (Sweet Skillet Bread)BS50 minEasy

Desserts

• Guava Duff (Bahamian Boiled Guava Pudding)BS2 hMedium