Conch Fritters
Yield: 12 large or 24 small fritters
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Conch Fritters:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 tablespoons buttermilk
8 ounces conch, finely minced
1 jalapeño, finely minced
¼ cup finely minced white onion
¼ cup finely minced red bell pepper
¼ cup finely minced carrots
1 clove garlic, minced
¾ teaspoon Creole seasoning
Vegetable oil, for frying
For the Dipping Sauce:
½ cup salsa
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Make the Dipping Sauce: Puree the salsa in a blender. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the mayonnaise, garlic powder, basil, salt, cayenne, and pepper and whisk well to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Stir well before serving.
2. Make the Fritters: Pour oil into a small frying pan or deep skillet, so that it comes at least one inch up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F.
3. Meanwhile, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and egg in a large bowl and stir well (the combination will look shaggy). Add the buttermilk to create a thick paste (the mixture should be the consistency of muffin batter). Stir in the conch, jalapeño, onion, red pepper, carrots, garlic, and seasoning, making sure that the ingredients are evenly distributed.
4. Using spoons or a cookie scoop, drop 1-inch balls of batter into the oil. Fry, turning with a slotted spoon, until golden brown, about 2 minutes for smaller fritters, up to 4 minutes if you made them a little larger. If you need to, work in batches so that you don't over-crowd the pan.
5. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fritters to paper towels to drain. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.
Note: If you can't find conch, you can substitute shrimp.
(Recipe for dipping sauce adapted from South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
