Conch with White Sauce and Spaghetti

When I was a little girl, my grannie had a sea shell in her window like the one in the picture. I was always fascinated by sea shells as a little kid because of all the colors and shapes. I loved this particular shell because it was large and so pretty. I would always hold it up to my ear believing I would hear the sound of the ocean.

When I was older, I realized that marine gastropod molluscs was the name of the species that lived in this shell in my freshmen biology class. But, I did not realize the common term was "conch" until years later.  My mom returned from a trip from Florida and told me she tried conch. I looked it up and read about the popularity of eating conch as fritters.


Other day at Super H-mart, an Asian grocery store, and, I found conch for sale. A lady was cooking it on site and providing samples. I just thought it was fantastic. I decided to buy it and try making conch at home. I am not sure where else you can find conch. I am sure it is a harder to find for purchase in certain areas. If you are in the Dallas area, H-mart is probably the best place to go. Otherwise, you would have to ask someone in a seafood department where you can purchase it if you are wanting to create this recipe. 


The texture of conch is a little chewy and is similar to octopus. I think it is a required taste but, I love it. I did some research on how to cook the conch. Due to the chewy texture, you either have to cook the conch quickly or cook it a really long time. I chose to cook it a long time. The recipe is totally my creation. For something I created with an unfamiliar ingredient, I think it turned out really well. 


My recipe for conch


Conch with Pepper White Sauce and Spaghetti


The recipe is very simple. Though, it takes about 1 to 2 hours to prepare. Great recipe to make on a weekend to have something special and show off a bit. This recipe will create three servings.


Ingredients

• 1/2 pound of conch
• 1 tbsp of black pepper seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp of ground pepper
• 3 tbsps of unsalted butter
• 1 cup of whole milk
• 2 tbsp of flour
• 1/4 tsp of salt for cooking conch and salt to taste inn sauce 
• 1 tbsp of Italian seasoning
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 2 cups of water
• three servings of spaghetti

Preparation

First, prepare the conch by rinsing the conch with water. Then, use a meat tenderizer to tenderize the conch a by hitting it on a cutting board. In a separate pan, add chicken broth, water, 1 tsp of pepper, and 1/4 tsp of salt and bring to a boil. Add conch to the boiling broth/water mixture. Then, reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and cook the conch for a hour. 

Once the conch is done, remove it from the broth/water mixture and chop up. Keep the broth from the conch.  Begin cooking three servings of spaghetti. Then, make a white sauce by first melting butter in a warm pan. Then, add the milk, bring it to a boil, and reduce the heat to a medium temperature. Add the flour and whisk to blend. Add the black pepper seeds, 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper, Italian seasoning, and salt to taste.  Cook for five minutes to thicken the sauce. Add a ladle full of the broth from the conch and the cooked spaghetti. Allow everything to cook together for 5 minutes on a simmer. Add the chopped conch and heat everything up for a minute on a medium heat. 



Serve warm with Parmesan cheese and your favorite glass of white wine. Also, I recommend eating a salad along the side. I ate my with my strawberry, feta cheese, and spinach salad. The recipe is on my blog. Enjoy!