A Grenadian fisherman, Dwight, in a boat full of his catch, conch, which it called lambi.
Diving up to 55 feet, tankless, he picks up conch from the sea floor, pushing one onto each finger.
Here’s how you prepare a local Grenadian meal in a context new to me — on a boat, rocking as we cooked.
First you must wait for fisherman Dwight and Stevie to roll up beside our sailboat in their small wooden motor boat, the bottom filled with conch, already out of their shells. Most are going to market, but accept 8 small ones as a gift in exchange for lunch.
Start work, removing the lambi’s eyes (black), and the skirt (edge of stomach) with a scissors and/or knife. Pound vigorously until 1/4 inch thick. Cover with water and cook in pressure cooker for 20 minutes.(Reserve the lambi and its cooking liquid)
Saute up some Trinidadean curry, island thyme with diced onion and carrots with 1/8 scotch bonnet in little coconut oil. Add the lambi and its liquid. Simmer for 10 minutes or until tender.
Serve over rice or noodles. (If would like it thickened, add 2 sliced okra during the last cooking.)
The curry adds high pitched kick to the mellow island flavor. The lambi itself is a rich seafood with a buttery texture and the taste of a summer sea breeze. Go Devi.
Amy’s Lambi Sushi
Slice right out of the ocean conch so thinly you can almost see through it. Squeeze with just a touch of lime juice. Eat immediately Orgasmic!
Piles of harvested conch dot the coastline of Grenada.
Dwight
A beautiful man without an ounce of extra flesh on him, Dwight has never been off the Island, except for one time, when a “yachtie’s” — friends living on a yacht— flew him to Trinidad to a decompression chamber to treat him for the bends. It took him several years to learn to walk again, but he still can make a living fishing for everything from conch to red snapper, then selling it to a middleman.
One evening, after a long day of fishing, Dwight and his mate Stevie joined us on Devi and Hunter’s boat where they enjoyed a pile of PBJs and cookies. He’d let the plug out of the boat before arriving to drain the water as he sped towards us — who knew boats had plugs? — but then forgot to replace it.
After lunch he spotted the sunken boat. Bug-eyed, he jumped into it in alarm, sinking it further. Hunter, who’s been head park ranger and more at a number of national parks, jumped into action, harnessing us all to save the boat, which we did, including a full load of conch. (Skilled as I am at sea, I was the flashlight holder.)
Conch (lambi) to decorate a front yard and a pile along the beach….
