A popular appetizer (or should I say snack) on the island is ceviche. You can order a fresh plate of ceviche at most restaurants. But they are also served at most local parties as an appetizer and they are also greatly savored at bars along with a nice cold Belikin Beer or your cocktail.
When we talk about ceviche the first thing that comes to mind is delicious Conch Ceviche. Many, if not all, island residents anticipate the opening of conch season so they can enjoy delicious conch ceviche. But did you know there is another delicious mollusk similar to the conch that is just as delicious or maybe even more (some would say)? Well, in case you didn’t know this delicious mollusk is locally known Maimula (Horse Conch).
The Boss (Dorian) and Angel Perlita both agree that it is much better than the conch, but I tend to like conch better. So you might as what is a Horse Conch? Well first of all, even though its name is Horse Conch it is not really a conch. It is a tropical sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk; in other words it’s from a totally different family. But just like the conch the meat of the horse conch is used as food, either eaten raw as in salads or ceviche, or cooked as chowders, soups or gumbos.
The horse conch is not readily available as the conch as it does not reproduce as much, so getting to savor a horse conch ceviche is very rare. So the Angels set out to find some horse conch and make some ceviche. We were quite lucky to have found some at one of San Pedro’s #1 hot spot, Cholo’s Sports Bar. One master at making ceviche and very popular for his mixes is Mr. Ruben Guerra (Angel Sofie’s Dad). We visited his small kitchen to learn how to prepare the delicious horse conch ceviche.
Ceviche is very easy to make all you need is fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime and seasonings. We wasted no time and got in the kitchen area and started cutting up some fresh horse conch. Perlita even got some lessons on how to properly hold a knife and easily cut up vegetables. We mixed up the horse conch with fresh veggies, added some lime juice, salt, black pepper and of course some hot Habanero peppers and we were good to go.
We headed back to the office to share our treat with our boss! Boy was it finger-licking good! So the next time you are craving a nice ceviche and you have not given the horse conch at try, please do. You might end up liking it more than conch. And we highly recommend Mr. Ruben’s ceviche. Just visit him at Cholo’s Sports Bar on the beach; he will hook you up with the best ceviche in town. And remember if the Angels recommend it, it’s gotta be good!
Click here to view Gerry’s Video Blog -Conch Shell Graveyard
