Delicious Bahamian Seafood Recipes
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.
-by Lori Ross
