Haitian Fish Cakes
(Beye Pwason)
Poisson is an original Haitian stew that includes fresh conch, which is a large sea snail. There are not too many other places in the world where conch is farmed and reproduced for food consumption purposes. That is why Poisson is a real delicacy when you visit Haiti or any restaurant in the United States that serves Poisson. If you enjoy fresh seafood that comes from the water, then you will enjoy the conch that is in Poisson. But make sure you prepare the Poisson for the stew right after you purchase it because it’ll lose its tenderness and elasticity if you freeze it first. Local Haitians typically catch their own conch and prepare it in a meal that very day. Other tasty ingredients in the stew include fresh herbs, cloves garlic, peppers, and onion. Lambi is good to have for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Most Haitians will prepare this meal for lunch and dinner because it takes them time to catch the conch needed to prepare it. In any case, Lambi is a very rich and tasty meal that any spicy seafood lover will enjoy immensely.
Poisson
Timing
prep time: 1 hour
cook time: 1.5 - 4 hours
total time: 5 hours
Ingredients:
2 ½ lbs of Fresh Conch
¼ Cup of Lime or Lemon Juice
5 to 6 Cloves Garlic (Sliced)
1 Small Onion (Sliced, Round)
1/2 Cup of Thinly Sliced Bell Peppers
1 to 2 Stalks of Celery (Sliced)
tsp of Salt
½ – 1 Bouillon Cube
1 tbsp of Salt-free Blended Herbs
1/8 tsp of Clove Powder
1 Scotch Bonnet
1 ½ tbsp of Cooking Margarine
1/3 Cup of Epis
2 tbsp of Tomato Paste
1/3 Cup of Oil
½ tbsp Picklies
Instructions:
Step 1
Clean the conch thoroughly. Chop up the conch meat into smaller pieces. Put the conch meat pieces into a bowl and add garlic, epis, herbs (salt-free), and lemon juice to it. Fill the bowl with water up to thepoint where it covers all the conch meat. Three cups should be good enough. Stir the ingredients in the bowl and leave it on the side for a couple of hours.
Step 2
Place a frying pan or skillet on your stove. Put olive oil in the pan and turn the heat to medium high. Add the other ingredients from the bowl to the pan. Add the tomato paste and mix it with the ingredients in the pan. Cover the pan with the lid. Let it all cook for up to 30 minutes, or whenever you notice the conch to be tender.
Step 3
The water in the pan will probably evaporate throughout the cooking process. If that happens, add an extra cup of water to the pan. You might have to do this for three or four times until the ingredients are fully cooked.
Step 4
Use a fork to poke at the conch meat. That is how you can tell whether it is tender or not. If it is tender, then you can add hot pepper, salt, margarine, onion, celery, and bell peppers into the mix. You don’t need to cook these ingredients on a medium or high flame. Reduce the heat intensity to low or simmer and leave it alone for about 10 minutes.
Step 5
Once the 10 minutes has expired, add the bouillon cube and clove powder to the pan as the final two ingredients. Let those ingredients simmer in the pan on low heat for about 20 minutes. After that, you can turn off the heat to the stove and let the ingredients sit covered in the pan until you’re ready to serve it. Don’t wait too long because it might get cold.
Serving Size: Serves 2