Conch Salad, Man!

Combine all of the ingredients except the tomato and avocado in a large bowl. Stir and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to develop.

To serve, fold in the tomato and avocado.

Transfer to 4 chilled glasses or serving bowls.

Those of us who have lived in South Florida for some time may remember when conch, freshly harvested from the sea, was readily available in grocery stores and fish markets. My first recollection of conch was watching young boys pulling them up onto the pier at Higgs Beach in Key West. A few weeks later, I learned to prepare a truly authentic Bahamian-style conch chowder using giant conch, or Strombus gigas Linnaeus, a mollusk that possesses a large "foot."They meander around on the ocean floor like aquatic peg-leg pirates, "jumping" and rotating to get food. The Bahamians taught us many ways to use this tasty creature and you can still sample fresh conch fritters, cracked conch, conch chowder and even conch carpaccio in Key West. If conch is unavailable, you may easily substitute shrimp in this salad recipe.

From My Key West Kitchen: Recipes and Stories by Norman Van Aken and Justin Van Aken. Text © 2012 by Norman Van Aken; photographs © 2012 by Penny De Los Santos. Published in 2012 by Kyle Books.