Whatever you’re craving, Southern Boating has a recipe that can be made aboard. Easy-to-make cruising entrées are added monthly from our At Ease in the Galley column.
Easy meals to make canned fish recipes for boating. Each recipe serves 4.
Boaters have long relied on canned food for quick, easy meals. Canned fish and seafood (called conservas in Spanish) are increasing in popularity as chefs and gourmets seek out delicious, imported jarred and tinned fish and shellfish preserved at the moment of peak flavor. To our delight, a greater variety of these delicious fish and shellfish products are stocking our grocery store shelves. Some of the best high-quality brands include: Cento, Matiz, Patagonia, Fishwife, Drifters, Jose Gourmet, Scout, Minnow, Bar Harbor, and Wild Planet. Below are some great ways to use canned seafood and canned fish recipes for boating adventures this summer.
Conservas Appetizer Board
2-4 cans tinned seafood
Assorted crackers, thick potato chips, or toasted sliced baguette
½ cup each olives and/or pickles
1 cup sliced cucumbers
½ cup each capers and chopped onion
4 oz. each soft and hard cheese (e.g., cream cheese, goat cheese, Parmesan, Swiss)
Condiments such as mustard, horseradish, mayonnaise, sour cream, chili crisp
1-2 lemons, quartered
Open cans of tinned seafood, drain, and lay on a platter (in the tin). Arrange crackers, veggies, cheese, and remaining ingredients around the canned seafood. Pour glasses of wine or sangria and encourage guests to enjoy!
Two 4-ounce cans of trout, salmon, tuna, sardines or mackerel, octopus or calamari, drained
½ cup onion, very thin sliced
¼ tsp. pepper
In a small skillet over medium-high heat, warm oil, salt, and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Toss garlic oil with beans, lemon zest, and dill. Divide greens among four plates. Place a half cup of beans on each plate of lettuce, then top with fish, onions, and pepper.*
*This bean salad is equally good warm or cold.
Clam Flatbread Pizza
Two 8- to 10-inch pizza crusts, lavash, or flatbreads (round or square)
1 Tbsp. oil
4 slices cooked bacon, chopped (or use 1/3 cup bacon bits)
2 Tbsp. garlic, minced
Two 4 oz. cans of clams, mussels, or cockles, well-drained
½ cup pecorino or Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp. dried basil
Preheat the oven or grill to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place flatbreads on baking sheets or pizza stones. Add oil to the skillet with chopped bacon, garlic, and clams. Cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Spread clam mixture onto the crusts, then sprinkle with cheese and basil. Bake or grill for 4-6 minutes or until pizza dough edges are crusty and browned. Cut and serve.
Spaghetti with Anchovies, Chilli, and Garlic
6 Tbsp. oil
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (or a couple pinches of red chilli flakes)
16 anchovy fillets in oil
4 cloves garlic, sliced
16 oz. cooked spaghetti (or linguine or tagliatelle)
In small pan, add oil and bring to medium heat. Add chilli and anchovies, cooking for 2 minutes, crushing the fish gently so it “melts” into the oil. Add the garlic, cook for 30-60 seconds, and remove from the heat. Toss pasta well with anchovy/chilli oil. Serve hot.**
**If you wish, add assorted seafood (octopus, calamari, baby shrimp, tuna) to this pasta sauce.
Turn up the heat with some spicy ingredients. Each recipe serves 4.
When we cruised the Bahamas, I was struck by the high quality and delicate flavor of the fish and shellfish, both at restaurants and at beach shacks. Simple fish soups were piquant with surprising finesse, as were the stuffed crab and grilled and fried seafood. I finally figured out that the combination of very fresh fish and shellfish, balanced seasoning, and minimal cooking are the secret. Don’t be afraid of the hot peppers—they become mellow when heated. Here are a few of my favorite Bahamian seafood recipes to try.
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Bahamian Stuffed Crab
1 cup chopped onions
4 Tbsp. butter
½ cup celery, minced
½ cup sweet pepper, minced
¼ cup parsley chopped (or 1 Tbsp. dried parsley)
2 lbs. cooked crabmeat
1 Tbsp. Creole seasoning (jarred or see recipe below)
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
On medium heat, sauté onions in butter for 5 minutes. Add celery, peppers, parsley, crabmeat, and seasoning, and cook for 2 minutes more. Cool mixture for 10 minutes, then add eggs and breadcrumbs. Stuff mixture into crab shells (or individual ramekins). Bake* at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
*or grill on medium for 30 minutes
Creole Seasoning
5 Tbsp. paprika
3 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. each onion powder and garlic powder
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
2 Tbsp. each dried oregano and basil
2 Tbsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
Combine all ingredients and store in sealed container.
Abacos Fish Soup
4 cups water
3 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup onion, diced
4 slices of bacon, diced
½ tsp. each salt and pepper
2 small hot peppers (fresh or pickled), minced
½ cup carrots, sliced
½ cup celery, sliced
1½ lb. white boneless fish fillets, cubed
In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil and add the potatoes, onion, bacon, salt, pepper, hot peppers, celery, and carrot, until the potatoes are fork-tender, then add fish. Reduce the heat and simmer 3-5 minutes until the fish is just cooked and the soup is delicately flavored.
Nassau Fish Cutlets With Devil’s Sauce
2 lbs. thin, boneless fish fillets
1 Tbsp. hot peppers (pickled or fresh), minced
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. oil or butter
4 Tbsp. flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup cracker meal, breadcrumbs, or Panko
Place fish in a resealable plastic bag along with hot peppers, lime juice, and salt. Marinate for 30 minutes. Heat oil or butter in a frying pan. Dip fish in flour, then egg, then cracker meal. Sauté fish in hot oil or butter until golden-brown (2-3 minutes per side). Serve with Devil’s Sauce (recipe below).
Devil’s Sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. pickapeppa sauce (or other hot sauce)
1 Tbsp. guava paste or jelly (or other fruit preserve)
¼ tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. vinegar
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 2 minutes. Chill before serving.
Ginger Garlic Grilled Seafood
Four 6 oz. fish fillets, lobster tails, or skewers of shrimp
2 Tbsp. oil
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. ginger, grated or minced (or ½ tsp. powdered ginger)
2 cloves garlic, grated or minced (or ½ tsp. garlic powder)
1 scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and sliced thin (or other hot pepper)
½ tsp. each salt and pepper
1 lime, quartered
Bottle of hot sauce
Combine oil, lime juice, ginger, garlic, and hot pepper. Pour marinade over seafood and refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat grill. Remove seafood from marinade. Season with salt and pepper, and place over medium heat until just cooked. Serve with lime wedges and hot sauce.
Enjoy this menu whenever you have a gathering for 6-8.
Summer Sundays are a great time for hosting an onboard party. Some of my fondest memories are from hosting small parties when we had our trawler in Coconut Grove, Florida. One meal stands out in my memory. I slow-cooked a pork shoulder in a disposable aluminum pan in our galley oven, made a spicy chimichurri sauce, and a sharp, tasty cabbage slaw. I served the pork with slider rolls and fresh tortillas while we enjoyed our company in the main salon of the boat. Guests brought appetizers, rice and beans, and beer and wine. The beautiful weather, the food, and the company certainly were memorable! Here’s how you can enjoy these same meal options for your summer boat party.
Cuban pork (Lechon Asado)
1 pork shoulder (ideally bone-in with some fat), about 4-5 lbs.
Place pork in mojo marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours or, ideally, for 24 hours. To cook, place pork in roasting pan or foil pan with the mojo marinade. Set oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and roast (covered tightly in foil) for 1 hour, then reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for two more hours. Uncover; cook at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for the last hour to brown the top.*
Let the pork rest for 10 minutes, and strain pan juices. Pour half of pan juices over pork, then slice or shred pork. Serve with the remaining juices and chimichurri sauce on the side, along with slider rolls or tortillas, rice and beans, and slaw.
*Grill or Stovetop
Grill: Use indirect heat (light front and rear burners only) in a covered grill.
Stovetop: Place the pork shoulder and mojo marinade in a large Dutch oven or a covered pan. Bring to a boil, then set heat to low, cover, and cook until pork reaches 185-190 degrees Fahrenheit or until fork tender. Add more marinade if liquid is below one inch at the bottom of the pan.
Chimichurri
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. onion, chopped
2 cups parsley, chopped
¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
¼ cup oregano leaves, or 1 tsp. dried
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. vinegar
½ cup oil
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, crushed
Combine all ingredients by hand or in a blender or food processor. Serve as a sauce with pork.
Sweet and Sour Slaw
⅔ cup cider vinegar
6 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 medium head cabbage, sliced thin
Mix first 4 ingredients and add to cabbage. Serve cold.
Cuban Black Beans and Rice
1 cup each diced onion and diced sweet pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. oil
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 cups cooked black beans
3 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 Tbsp. vinegar
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups cooked rice
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ cup parsley or cilantro, chopped
Sauté onion, pepper, and garlic in oil for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, black beans, cumin, oregano, vinegar, chicken stock, rice, salt, and pepper, and cook on medium-low for 5 more minutes. Garnish with parsley or cilantro.
Plan a delicious Thai dinner to savor on your next voyage.
Thailand is known for its vibrant and delicious cuisine, which makes it the perfect choice for your next onboard meal. Indulge in the rich flavors and fragrant spices that Thai food is famous for. Prepare a mouth-watering Thai feast for your next voyage with these favorite recipes.
Thai Mango Salad
Dressing:
⅛ cup oil
½ tsp. grated lime rind
1 Tbsp. lime juice
½ Tbsp. fish sauce*
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. minced hot pepper or hot sauce
⅛ tsp. each of salt and pepper
Salad:
1 mango, peeled, pitted, and sliced (or peaches or nectarines, sliced)
½ sweet pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced
1 carrot, sliced thin
2 cups mixed greens
⅛ cup scallions, sliced
⅛ tsp. each of salt and pepper
¼ cup peanuts, chopped
1 Tbsp. chopped mint or pinch of dried mint
1 lime, quartered
In a large bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Add first five salad ingredients to dressing and toss to coat, adding salt and pepper. Serve salad sprinkled with peanuts and mint, plus a lime quarter to squeeze over salad.
* Substitute: equal amount of soy sauce, or oyster sauce mixed with a ½ teaspoon of anchovy paste or Worcestershire sauce.
Thai Shrimp
½ Tbsp. each of minced ginger root and turmeric root (or pinch each of dried ginger and turmeric)
2 Tbsp. garlic, minced
½ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. lemongrass, minced*
½ lb. uncooked shrimp, peeled, deveined
1-2 Tbsp. oil
⅛ tsp. each of salt and pepper
Mix turmeric, garlic, lemongrass, and salt, and add to shrimp. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, turning occasionally. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet, and add marinated shrimp. Sauté, turning occasionally, until cooked through, 4-6 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
* Substitute: 1 tablespoon of lemongrass paste or 1 tablespoon of grated lemon zest mixed with 4-5 leaves of minced arugula.
Pad Thai
Sauce:
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. lime juice
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
⅛ tsp. Sriracha hot sauce
Noodles:
1 Tbsp. oil
¼ cup scallions or onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
8 oz. Thai rice noodles (or other noodles/pasta), cooked according to package directions
¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
⅛ cup roasted peanuts, chopped
1 lime, quartered
In a small bowl, whisk sauce ingredients. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add scallions and garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add eggs and scramble for 30 seconds, until almost set. Add noodles and sauce to skillet. Cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are coated with sauce and eggs (about 2 minutes). Serve noodles topped with cilantro, peanuts, and a lime wedge for squeezing.
Thai Pearl Cocktail
6 oz. pineapple juice
3 oz. light rum
2 oz. coconut milk
2 tsp. lime juice
2 lime slices
2 mint sprigs (optional)
Mix pineapple juice, rum, coconut milk, and lime juice. Pour into two glasses filled with ice. Garnish each glass with a lime slice and a sprig of mint.
Prepare these refreshing salads in your own galley. Recipes serve 4.
We all love crisp, refreshing salads in the hot summer. Whether simple or elaborate, they keep us cool while satisfying our appetites.
On our boat a few summers ago, I started experimenting with “copycat” recipes of our favorite restaurant salads. I made the dressing a couple of days in advance to meld flavors. I prepared the lettuce ahead of time and stored it in a large Ziploc bag or container. While working in a restaurant kitchen,
I learned that lettuce will brown if cut in advance with a metal knife. To avoid browning, simply tear lettuce into bite-size pieces with your hands. Toss each salad with just enough dressing to coat ingredients and serve additional dressing on the side.
The Original Chef Salad 1910 Ritz Carlton NYC
Dressing:
3 Tbsp. ketchup
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
½ tsp. paprika
Pinch of white pepper
1 egg yolk
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp. salt or more, to taste
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth. Set dressing aside.
Salad:
8 cups mixed lettuce (romaine, arugula, iceberg)
8 slices of each:
deli ham, roast beef, chicken, or turkey and Swiss cheese
(sliced into strips: 2-inch-long x 1-inch-wide)
2 hard-cooked eggs, halved
1 cup tomatoes, sliced
1 cup cucumber, sliced
8 whole anchovies (optional)
Spread lettuce on a platter. Arrange ham, beef, turkey, or chicken, Swiss cheese, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, and anchovies attractively on top of greens. Drizzle with some of the dressing and serve remaining dressing on the side.
California Pizza Kitchen: BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad
Dressing:
Herb Ranch (or your favorite bottled ranch dressing)
¼ cup sour cream
¾ cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. each minced dill, parsley, and chives (or a pinch of each dried herb)
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. salt
Blend all ingredients until smooth.
Salad:
8 cups bite-size iceberg or romaine lettuce
1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen or canned and drained)
1 cup jicama, peeled and diced (or other crunchy vegetable such as radish or celery)
1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cheddar or mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup tomato, diced
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
½ cup BBQ sauce
1 cup tortilla strips (or crumbled tortilla chips)
1 cup avocado, diced (optional)
Hot sauce
Combine lettuce, corn, jicama, beans, cheese, and tomatoes in a salad bowl. Toss with ranch dressing. Combine chicken and BBQ sauce. Place chicken on the salad. Sprinkle salad with tortilla strips and diced avocado. Serve with extra BBQ sauce, ranch dressing, tortilla strips, and hot sauce.
Ten tools that will make tasks in the galley ten times easier
You’ve bought a boat. Congratulations! Now your thoughts are spinning, and your mind quickly floods with all the other fun tasks to get your boat ready. For the person in charge of the galley, one of the most notable jobs is stocking it with these 10 Must-Have Galley Tools.
Whether you have a 30-foot sailboat or a 90-foot motor yacht, it’s important to “think like a boater” during this process and get your mind out of your home kitchen. The boat’s power source is much different and, in most cases, you won’t have much cupboard or counter space.
When going through this list of essential galley tools, we bypassed the presumed, such as your typical pots, pans, knives, forks, spoons, etc., and instead focused on the items you possibly didn’t consider. Some may seem obvious and some may seem like camping supplies, but they’ll save you time, help you avoid a critical faux pas, and make you look like you know what you’re doing. Here are the 10 Must-Have Galley Tools.
1. Blender
Didn’t you buy your boat to be the perfect addition to your mini umbrella cocktail? In that case, you’ll need something for those blended drinks. Yes, a blender can make soup, healthy breakfast smoothies, waffle batter, and milkshakes, but those are just nice extras.
2. Pour-over coffee filter
If there is one thing we’ve learned in life, it’s that people need their coffee. There is a second thing we learned about life on board: Boats enjoy surprising us with fun problems
like having the electricity cut out. When that happens and people haven’t had their coffee, stress levels could infinitely rise. Avoid this and get one.
3. Airtight Containers
We’ve had guests onboard that we really don’t want back, and then there are some you never want on your boat at all. Rats and bugs! These guests don’t care about the view or socializing, but they love what you have in the cupboards–food. Take these steps to ensure they don’t make your waterfront home theirs.
Step one: Put all rice, flour, cereal, and pasta products into the freezer for at least one hour before storing them in your cabinets. This kills any possible larva in your packaged foods. (Yes, hate to burst your bubble if you didn’t already know, but the FDA allows a certain percentage of bugs in all our food. Google it.)
Step two: Remove all cardboard. Never ever, ever, ever have cardboard on a boat. Roaches love to make condos out of cardboard, especially if it’s corrugated and think it’s a fun place to start a family.
Step three: Get those airtight containers. OXO food containers are airtight for freshness, heavy-duty to protect and remain sealed through a storm, and, most important, will keep your food off-limits to pesky, unwanted guests. As for the human guests, well, that takes a different approach.
4. Cast-iron skillet
The most versatile (and heaviest) of all the pans in the pan family is absolutely a must. A cast-iron skillet can go from the stovetop, right into the oven, or onto the grill. It is the most trusted source for evenly cooking everything from steak to frittatas, including searing meats and seafood, and adds a nice touch when serving straight from the pan. It’s also a great piece of exercise equipment to tighten up those arms, and its solid, hefty build works well as a weapon against pirates.
5. Handheld Can Opener
This tool does a very important job: It opens cans! Electric can openers take up too much space and are useless without electricity, so throw it overboard, or into the dinghy for the trash run. On a boat, it is essential to have a little part of your brain maintain a doomsday scenario when storing canned foods as if it was your secret bunker.
Yes, you will use your canned items regularly at times for certain recipes and need to open them, but in the event that you run out of food or you end up on a deserted island, it’s a good idea to have some canned goods. But they won’t do you any good if you can’t open them. I mean, have you ever seen the movie Adrift? Or any boat movie for that matter? Point made.
6. Mandoline
By adding an “e” to mandolin, you get an awesome cooking utensil, not a musical instrument. This tool can “slice” off about 20 minutes from your food prep time, help keep your wrist from numbness and swelling from using a knife as well as avoid the cut when it suddenly slips. You need a mandoline slicer.
Onions, potatoes, tomatoes, and more are evenly sliced or julienned to make you look like an expert, all while saving time. Again, we emphasize small! You only need a handheld mandoline. It won’t take up any of your precious counter space.
We know it’s a huge debate, but wine may be even more important than coffee. You must have at least two wine keys on board. We repeat, at the very least, two. If you only have one, someone will lose it, or it will break right when you need it. Ask Murphy. It’s his law.
8. Tongs
When the boat is rocking (no, not that way), a firm grip on your food will be the difference between a beautifully plated dish and a mess on the floor. Be one with the ocean and become a crab. These will be your new claws in the galley.
9. A good gas barbecue
We were told to emphasize the word good (because you’re on the ocean). The galley is small and usually not well-ventilated. Cooking meats or fish in your galley can fill the boat with many smells that linger. The grill not only fits more food than a pan and cooks food fast, but it’s also great for those times the electricity magically shuts off and perfect for getting out on the deck for some fresh air. It also keeps the men busy. The benefits are endless.
10. Mini food processor
This is your best friend for all those sauces, pestos, salsas, mousses, and guacamole to make your meals exquisite. You can even throw in those hefty boat bills you don’t want to pay; they disappear like magic. We emphasize mini because by now you might be aware of how little space is in the galley. Another thing, don’t confuse the food processor with the blender. They are completely different.
Ask the Chef about their 10 Must-Have Galley Tools
If you’re not the chef, it’s crucial to ask what he or she might need to make the
creating process run smoothly. If you are the chef, bring the tools you like to cook
with so you’re comfortable. All chefs have their own little quirks and their own
way of doing things. They like to use certain recipes and might have different
techniques learned from their master chefs and grandmothers.
Food is an art; give the chef, aka the artist, the proper tools, aka For the person in charge of the galley, one of the most notable jobs is stocking it with these 10 Must-Have Galley Tools. to make the best creations. You’ve invested in the perfect yacht, so don’t try to cut corners on the galley—this is the place that makes your yachting experience extraordinary.
Always remember, dolphins do not deliver and until they do, you’ll have to get your
supplies on land and prepare for your voyage in advance…before you leave the dock.
Plan your meals, put a snapshot in your mind of the things you’ll need, and pay no attention to the person in the aisle who’s glaring as you take extra time at the grocery store to carefully choose what you need while out at sea. It’ll make for another enjoyable day on the boat.
By Blair Barbour and Darcy Whitney, Southern Boating August 2019
Dining in The Bahamas can be anything from casual to high-end and everything in between.
Dining in The Bahamas vary dramatically from eclectic beach huts, spring break-style bars, and restaurants to casual marina pubs and fine-dining establishments. Naturally, seafood is something that intersects all manner of culinary delights as Bahamians and local restaurateurs value the proximity to the sea.
Oddly enough, Bahamians are quite choosy when it comes to “fruits” they pick from the waters. Unlike in other territories where locals seem to eat everything that the human body can stomach, culturally speaking, Bahamians don’t stray far from what they are most familiar with.
The invasive lionfish, now abundant in the waters of The Bahamas, has a negative impact on the marine ecosystem. As a part of its population control strategy, the government invested significant funds in public education to popularize the fine-tasting fish, but Bahamians are not taking the bait. More locals are familiar with lionfish and many enjoy its flavor, but it has not become a staple in the Bahamian diet and very few restaurants offer it.
Stingrays, eels, sea crabs, and octopuses are ubiquitous in the waters of The Bahamas, but you will rarely if ever, see them on the dinner table in most Bahamian homes. You might find a stingray taco on the menu in Mexico, and some Greek and Italian restaurants in The Bahamas serve octopus, but not at Sunday dinner in a Bahamian home. The same goes for eels, parrotfish, sea urchins, starfish, and many other edible marine species.
What can visitors expect to eat in The Bahamas?
There are supply and demand factors that affect the availability and accessibility of some species that Bahamians love; however, the main types of seafood you will find most common at restaurants and in Bahamian homes are conch, lobster, snapper (of which there are dozens of varieties), grouper, and certain pelagic fish like mahi mahi, wahoo, and tuna. Bahamians have a unique and delicious way of preparing seafood, and it usually involves a simple combination of seasonings—mashed salt and bird pepper, a lot of lime, and grilled or fried.
The edible species common in Bahamian homes but rarely served at restaurants include jacks, goggle-eyes, whelks, curbs, and barracuda, notwithstanding the risk of ciguatera fish poisoning.
New restaurants are ready to serve
The Tea Room, Rock Sound, Eleuthera
Rock Sound’s latest restaurant, The Tea Room, opened July 19th . The casual, boutique dining establishment with a bright and earthy aesthetic serves breakfast and lunch during the week. Wall-to-wall French doors and large windows let natural light flood into the restaurant to create a cheerful atmosphere.
Wherever you choose to whet your appetite, we assure that the view will be incredible.
Vegetables are locally sourced from Eleuthera farmers including the restaurant’s very own farm. The irrigation system, in fact, is partially powered with solar electricity derived from the panels sitting atop the Tea Room’s roof.
There is another element that makes the Tea Room unique. It is a training restaurant and social entrepreneurship enterprise at the Centre for Training and Innovation which empowers young people in the community with opportunities to learn new skills, obtain job experience and break the cycle of poverty. Carpentry students made the dining tables, while hospitality students assist in the service and food preparation.
The Tea Room’s menu changes fortnightly, serving Bahamian and American dishes, including vegetarian options like the chickpea veggie burger and avocado salad with mango vinaigrette.
Dining in The Bahamas just got cooler. The historic Nassau Harbour finally has a new waterfront restaurant. Latitudes’ ceiling-to-floor glass windows provide panoramic views of the harbor including the main boating channel, Paradise Island’s most famed hotels, and marinas stretching to the east and west. It directly overlooks the Nassau Harbor Club Marina and features stunning sunsets that sometimes appear through the two arched bridges connecting Nassau and Paradise Island.
It’s impossible to pin down the food to one type of style as the multiregional menu features Bahamian, Italian, and Asian cuisine that includes seafood, steak, freshly made pizzas, sushi, and teppanyaki. The interior design at Latitudes is ultra-modern with bold color blocking, stylized ceilings, and metalwork finishes. The restaurant is one of six under the umbrella of the Titan Hospitality Group, which also includes Wreckers in Spanish Wells and Smugglers in Nassau.
The Latitudes Bar is a trendy social spot that quickly became a feature of Nassau nightlife after it opened. It’s still to be seen if Latitudes has longevity on the social scene, but the circular bar features local draft beer and a full lineup of top-shelf alcohol. The large parking lot for Latitudes is on the other side of a highly trafficked main road, so parking and accessing the restaurants is not the most convenient; however, valet service at the restaurant’s entrance is free.
From luxury resorts to roadside stands, don’t hesitate to stop and taste the Bahamian local fare. Nassau’s oldest, family-owned Bahamian restaurant and bar is the Bahamian Cookin’ Restaurant, formally known as Bahamian Kitchen. For those wanting true,
authentic Bahamian island-style food, head to Trinity Place in Downtown Nassau (across from Central Bank) to experience three generations of Bahamian cooking, including conch fritters, grouper, and lobster.
Don’t let its appearance fool you. Stuart’s Conch Stand in Bailey Town, Bimini, is a rustic shack with piles of conch shells behind it, but the food is outstanding. Everything is prepared fresh while you wait. Visitors highly recommend the conch salad, paired with an ice-cold local beer. With generous portions, modest prices, and friendly staff, Stuart’s doesn’t disappoint. Open for lunch and dinner.
(242) 347-2474
Eleuthera and Harbour Island
Arrive by boat to Frigate’s Bar & Grill in Rock Sound, Eleuthera. It has an easily accessible dingy dock (and the owners don’t mind if you dock there while shopping for provisions). Beat the heat in Frigate’s air-conditioned dining room and share a sampler platter of conch fritters, fish bites, chicken tenders, or wings with three or four friends. They’ll even cook up your catch of the day. Make a reservation or place an order online.
Sip Sip’s menu changes daily based on what’s fresh and in season. In Bahamian slang, sip sip means gossip or idle chat, which lends to why Sip Sip is a popular local hangout in Dunmore Town on Harbour Island. The waterfront view is quite the scene, but its casual atmosphere along with Chef Julie Lightbourn’s classic Bahamian dishes make this a beautiful and tasty spot to have lunch. Try the Spicy Conch Chili or its famed Lobster Quesadilla. Sip Sip is open from Thanksgiving to August but has a sister restaurant at the Atlantis Paradise Island.
These zesty Tiki Noodles are the perfect combination of sweet, salty, spicy, and crunchy!
The best thing about these tiki noodles? They taste even better on day two! So go ahead, enjoy them for lunch the next day as well.
Ingredients:
½ cup Asian sesame oil
½ cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp. rice or cider vinegar
¾ Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. hot chili oil
or 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 lb. linguine or rice noodles
½ red pepper, diced
¼ cup scallions
1 Tbsp. roasted sesame seeds (optional)
1 cup shredded cabbage (optional)
Directions:
Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Cook pasta al dente. Drain pasta and stir in the sauce while the noodles are hot.
Cover and refrigerate overnight or until cooled. Toss noodles with peppers, scallions, sesame seeds, and cabbage.
Serve the Tiki Noodles at room temperature in small bowls with forks.
Try this tasty twist on shrimp skewers. You’ll have the crew begging for more! If you’re in the mood for a similar style of cooking, try this Asian Fusion menu.
Ingredients:
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup pineapple juice
½ cup brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. grated ginger or ½ tsp. ground ginger
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar or white vinegar
Dash of cayenne pepper
1 ½ lbs. large shrimp, deveined and shelled
2 sweet peppers, cut into chunks
1 pineapple, cored, skinned and cubed
Not a shrimp fan? The marinade in the Polynesian Shrimp recipe would work just as well on a neutral fish like cod or tilapia.
Directions:
Mix the first 7 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off and let cool. Place cleaned shrimp in a large, shallow bowl and pour in half of the cooled marinade. Refrigerate for 2-5 hours. Reserve the remaining marinade for basting.
When ready to cook, heat grill to high, remove shrimp from marinade and make skewers (ideally metal) alternating shrimp, pepper and pineapple. Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side, basting with the reserved marinade.
When your mom goes out of town you ask: But what’s there to eat? She will always answer: Make yourself a dang chicken quesadilla!
This will also be the answer if you are cruising on your boat. While we can guarantee that you’ll like this meal, the same can not be said for Tina.
Spice Mixture:
1 tsp. each ground cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, onion powder, and paprika
½ tsp. dried oregano
Quesadilla Ingredients:
1¼ lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs (beef or shrimp is good, too)
3 cups sliced bell peppers
2 cups sliced onions
8 flour tortillas (10-inch)
16 oz. shredded cheese
Sour cream and salsa, to serve
Directions for Chicken Quesadillas:
Heat grill to high (meat, veggies, and quesadillas can also be heated on the stovetop or baked in an oven at 375°F).
Combine ingredients for spice mixture in a bowl. Sprinkle half mixture on chicken and cook on the grill for 6 minutes. Mix remaining spice with veggies, flip chicken and add veggies to grill; cook about 5-6 minutes.
Transfer cooked veggies to a bowl, and let chicken rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes. Lower grill temperature and cook tortillas until lightly browned on each side. Remove from heat and assemble chicken quesadillas.
Slice chicken thinly, place one tortilla on plate and top with cheese, chicken, peppers, onions, and 2 additional tablespoons of cheese. Top with another tortilla. Repeat to make four quesadillas and place back of a medium-low grill for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.
Cut into 6 pieces and eat like a pizza, dipping in salsa and sour cream.
Cruising in The Bahamas gives you access to the freshest seafood available. Conch, Mahi, spiny lobster, you name it. With fresh fish, the trick is to simply bring out its flavor with a hit of acid and a sprinkle of salt.
Please don’t drown your fish (in sauce).
Fresh fish like this cooks very quickly. Make sure to have all other elements of your meal ready to go before this gets on the grill.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. oil
1½ Tbsp. minced garlic
1½ Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
1 hot chili pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
Four 6-oz. fish fillets, such as grouper or mahi
¼ tsp. each salt and pepper
Lime wedges and hot sauce, for serving
Directions:
In a sealable, combine oil, garlic, lime juice, ginger, pepper, and chili. Add fish to bag and coat well.
Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour. When ready to eat, remove fish from marinade and place on a medium-high grill. Season with salt and pepper, and cook until nicely browned, about 3 minutes per side.
When I was working as a chef on yachts, I would occasionally get pangs for the comfort foods I ate as a child. This Bahamian Style Mac and Cheese always did the trick.
I know, I know. As a chef, I had the best foods and ingredients available. But after cooking three meals a day (and dinner was always three courses, so we’ll call it five meals a day), all I wanted at the end of a charter was simple comfort foods I could shovel down my throat. And I’ll tell you, I never got any complaints from the crew about it either.
Bahamian Style Mac and Cheese Ingredients:
¼ cup butter
½ lb. macaroni, cooked
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. each chopped onion and bell pepper
1 tsp. each salt, pepper and paprika
½ tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
2 eggs
1 cup milk (or evaporated milk)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease 8×8-inch baking dish. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add cooked pasta and stir in 2 cups shredded cheese, onion, bell pepper,
salt, pepper, and paprika. Stir until cheese is melted.
Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Mix eggs and milk and fold gently into pasta. Pour pasta/egg mixture into a greased baking dish and spread evenly. Top with remaining cheese and cover loosely with foil. Bake until the top is golden, about 1 hour.
Fun fact of the day: this Bimini Succotash has Native American roots.
Today, we think of classic succotash as a Southern recipe. But the word ‘succotash’ is actually derived from the Narragansetts, a Native American tribe in Rhode Island. “Sohquttahhash” means broken corn kernels.
Succotash is a hardy and nourishing meal that is highly customizable. Most of the ingredients can be frozen or, in a pinch, canned. This Bimini Succotash is no exception.
Ingredients:
¼ cup olive oil
2 cups corn (canned and drained,
or frozen is fine)
½ cup bell pepper, diced
1 hot pepper, seeded, and diced (optional)
1 cup onion, diced
½ cup tomatoes, diced
1 cup shelled, cooked lima beans
(fresh, canned or frozen)
1 tsp. dried oregano or basil
1 Tbsp. vinegar
½ tsp. each salt and pepper
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the corn, peppers, onion, and tomatoes. Cook over medium heat about 3 minutes, stirring until vegetables are just tender. Add cooked
beans, and sauté 2 minutes longer. Remove skillet from heat and add the oregano or basil and vinegar.
Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
This Crustless Spinach Pie is similar to a frittata, a quick savory egg dish. If served with toast, this crustless spinach pie could also do double duty as a tasty breakfast or lunch item. Opa! Leftover potatoes could be repurposed into breakfast potatoes or home fries.
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. oil
1 cup onion, diced
10 oz. spinach (fresh or frozen/canned, drained)
6 eggs
2 cups crumbled feta cheese
½ tsp. each salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat oil in a skillet and sauté onion until translucent. Add spinach to the pan for 5-6 minutes to wilt and evaporate the liquid. Remove spinach from heat to cool. Whisk eggs, cheese, salt, and pepper and add to spinach. Pour into a 9-inch greased pie plate and bake for 25-30 minutes until center is set. Serve warm.
Recipe from Lori Ross, Southern Boating, April 2019
Don’t let the name intimidate you. Lamb is actually quite easy to make aboard. It’s best served rare, so anticipate a quick cook time, and it can be prepared outside. There are only five ingredients and cook time is five minutes or less.
These Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops will have your guests asking for more!
Ingredients:
1 tsp. each dried oregano and thyme
1 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. garlic salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
8 loin lamb chops (1-1½” thick)
Directions:
Preheat grill. Mix herbs, pepper, and garlic salt. Spread oil on both sides of chops and press into herb mixture, coating both sides. Place on grill and cook 4-5 minutes per side or as desired. Serve with Lemon Potatoes recipe below.
Garlic Lemon Potatoes
These zesty potatoes make the perfect accompaniment to the Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops.
Ingredients:
¼ cup olive oil
½ tsp. dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
(or ½ tsp. garlic powder)
2-3 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ cup chicken broth
1 tsp. each salt and pepper
4 cups new potatoes cut bite-sized
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine oil, herbs, garlic, lemon juice, and broth in a large bowl. Add potatoes and toss them gently until they’re well coated. Place potatoes in a single layer on a sheet pan. Drizzle remaining marinade over the top. Bake for 1 hour, turning
the potatoes halfway through to prevent them from sticking and to brown evenly. Once cooked, season with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice, if desired.
Recipe from Lori Ross, Southern Boating, April 2019
