Conch Chowder

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 ounces slab bacon, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• ½ green pepper, seeded, deribbed and chopped
• ½ red pepper, seeded, deribbed and chopped
• ½ yellow pepper, seeded, deribbed and chopped
• 1 poblano pepper, seeded, deribbed and chopped
• ½ jalapeño pepper, seeded, deribbed and chopped
• 4 small new potatoes, peeled, diced and placed in cold water to prevent discoloration
• 1 ½ cups canned tomato purée
• 1 ½ cups Italian canned whole tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 ½ cups fish stock
• 2 ½ cups clam juice
• 1 pound cleaned and ground conch meat; to grind, thaw the meat and place in a food processor or blender and pulse (see note)
• Bouquet garni (1 sprig each thyme, oregano, marjoram, basil tied in a cheesecloth)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Tabasco sauce to taste

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

    295 calories; 12 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 28 grams protein; 57 milligrams cholesterol; 974 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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Two quarts

Preparation

1. In a stockpot, heat the olive oil and render the bacon. Add all ingredients up to (but not including) the potatoes. Cook vegetables over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the potatoes, tomato purée and chopped tomatoes. Reduce heat to very low.
2. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, heat fish stock and clam juice until simmering. Add the ground conch, stirring vigorously so the conch doesn’t clump up. Bring to a boil, then strain the liquid into the other pot. Set aside the conch. Add bouquet garni, bay leaf and red pepper flakes and simmer the soup until the potatoes are cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove bouquet garni. Add conch and Tabasco sauce to taste.

• Frozen conch is available from the odd fishmonger as frozen steaks or scungilli, but you will have a better chance of finding it in your local Chinatown. (Abalone is an acceptable, but expensive, substitute; you can also use clams.) Should you wish to prepare the conch in any way other than ground, you will have to beat it with a mallet until it and, quite likely, you, are falling apart.

About 50 minutes