Lambi an sos

Ingredients

Conch

• 1 kgconch meat
• cleaned
• juice of 4 limes
• 2 tablespoonssalt, for cleaning
• 1 tablespoonvinegar

Epis marinade

• 1 bunchparsley
• 6spring onions
• 1onion
• 8garlic cloves
• 2 sprigsthyme
• 1green pepper
• 2 tablespoonsoil
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper

The sauce

• 4 tablespoonsoil
• 2onions, sliced
• 1red pepper, sliced
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tablespoonstomato purée
• 1scotch bonnet, whole
• 2bay leaves
• 1stock cube
• 500 mlwater
• salt and black pepper

To serve

• white rice
• or diri kole, rice and beans
• fried plantain
• pikliz

Directions

1. Rinse the conch meat in cold water. Trim off all the dark outer skin. Cut away the hard orange claw. It is not eaten and must be removed. Cut away any hard or discoloured parts. Cleaning it properly takes real work. Rub the meat hard all over with salt. Add lime juice and rub it again. Salt and lime cut the slippery coating. Work it firmly rather than gently. Rinse it thoroughly in cold water.
2. Repeat it until it is no longer slippery. Rub it once more with vinegar. Let it sit there for ten minutes. Rinse it thoroughly one last time. Lay a piece on a sturdy board. Cover it with a sheet of film. Beat it hard with a meat mallet. Use the flat side of the mallet. Work from the centre outwards. Beat it until it is noticeably flattened. Judging the tenderising takes a feel.
3. Cut the beaten conch into bite-sized pieces. Cut across the grain where you can see it. Blend all the epis ingredients smooth. Rub the epis over the conch pieces. Cover it over and refrigerate it. Give it at least two full hours. Put the conch in a pot with water. Bring the pot up to a full boil.
4. Let it simmer for about forty minutes. Keep all of that cooking liquid. Judging it takes a proper test. Boil it on if it still resists. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot.
5. Add the sliced onions to the pot. Cook them for a good ten minutes. Add the sliced red pepper to them. Cook it for five more minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Add the tomato purée with them. Cook them down for about ten minutes. The tomato must cook right down.
6. Oil should separate at the edges. Raw tomato taste should be entirely gone. Add the drained conch and its epis. Add the bay leaves and the stock cube. Add the whole scotch bonnet to it.
7. Add the reserved cooking liquid. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cover it and lower the heat right down. Give it about forty minutes there. Oil should be visible at the surface. Haitian creole sauce is thick rather than soupy.
8. Reduce it uncovered if it is too thin. Taste it and adjust the salt as needed. Add black pepper to taste as well. Squeeze in lime if it tastes flat. Serving it is always done piping hot. Ladle it out over plain white rice. Serve fried plantain alongside. Put pikliz out on the table too. It is fiercely hot and very sharp.

Technique

• Queen conch has been heavily overfished with populations declining across the Caribbean, and it is listed on CITES Appendix Two so international trade is regulated; several countries have closed or limited fisheries, with minimum sizes and closed seasons applying in places. Conch grow slowly, mature late and gather to breed, which makes them easy to collect in numbers and slow to recover.
• Conch meat is an extremely dense muscle that must be beaten with the flat of a mallet or simmered for well over an hour, and most cooks do both; it has a narrow window where it is tender, turns rubbery just past it, and only becomes tender again much later, so aim for one end or the other and never the middle.
• Clean it by rubbing hard with salt and lime until it is no longer slippery, trimming the dark outer skin and cutting away the hard operculum, which is not eaten.

Substitutions

• Epis, the Haitian green seasoning, is made in quantity and kept for almost every savoury dish.
• A whole scotch bonnet gives aroma without full heat and can be lifted out before serving.

Variations

• Some cooks boil the conch first and others rely on pounding alone.
• It is served over white rice or with diri kole, the rice and beans.
• Pikliz, the fiercely hot pickled slaw, is the standard accompaniment.

History

Queen conch tenderised and stewed in creole sauce; conch is a staple along Haiti’s coasts and is now managed by fishing regulations.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lambi an sos?

Lambi an sos is a main from Haiti: tenderized conch simmered in creole sauce. Queen conch tenderised and stewed in creole sauce; conch is a staple along Haiti’s coasts and is now managed by fishing regulations.

How long does Lambi an sos take to make?

Lambi an sos takes 45 minutes plus tenderising of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Lambi an sos?

Yes, within limits. Epis, the Haitian green seasoning, is made in quantity and kept for almost every savoury dish. A whole scotch bonnet gives aroma without full heat and can be lifted out before serving.

What is the most important thing to get right in Lambi an sos?

Rinse the conch meat in cold water. Trim off all the dark outer skin. Cut away the hard orange claw. It is not eaten and must be removed. Cut away any hard or discoloured parts. Cleaning it properly takes real work. Rub the meat hard all over with salt. Add lime juice and rub it again. Salt and lime cut the slippery coating. Work it firmly rather than gently. Rinse it thoroughly in cold water.