Crawfish Etouffee
Etouffee creates two camps of people: those who make it with a roux and those who use raw flour to thicken the mixture. I grew up eating both kinds, and like them both. The latter has my heart, perhaps because that’s the kind we had at my house growing up. No matter the reason, this is the only version I make.
This version creates a dish that is pure decadence that the French would approve of due to the use of oodles of butter. Make sure you eat it as a treat and know there are plenty of Cajun/Creole dishes that are healthy.
Eat this over brown rice for lunch and dinner or smother an omelette with it for breakfast.
Kitchen tip: Cut off the base of celery and put the stalks in a glass of water in the fridge. The celery will stay crisp.
Serves 10-12
Ingredients
16 T butter
2 c chopped onion (about 1 medium)
1 c chopped celery (about 2 large stalks)
1 c chopped green bell pepper (about 1 medium)
2 pounds crawfish tails
½ c sliced thin green onions
4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 T whole wheat flour
½ c chopped parsley
2.5 c hot water
2 t salt
1 t black pepper
¼ t cayenne pepper
Directions
In 2 quart sautee pan or 10 inch frying pan, melt butter. Sweat the onion for about 5-10 minutes. Add celery and bell pepper to the pan. Keep the heat low so you don’t get browning.
When the veggies are really shrunken, add crawfish tails, green onion, and garlic. Cover for about 10 minutes.
Stir in flour. It should be a gloopy mess. Add parsley, water, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cook about another 10-15 minutes. The consistency should be pretty thick. You shouldn’t have much run on your plate.
Serve it on a plate over brown rice and garnish with sliced green onions.
Notes
Trinitiy: It’s the basis of most Cajun/Creole cooking which is a combination of onion, green bell pepper, and celery. It’s similar to the French mirapoix but substitute bell pepper for the carrots. Everyone’s ratios are different so play around with what you like. I like 2 part onion, 1 part bell pepper and 1 part celery. If your bell pepper yields a little extra and isn’t enough to save, please use it. It won’t make an inferior dish. No need to waste good food. Use the celery leaves too!
Salt: You’ll hear me harping on salt quite often. Different types of salt have different levels of saltiness. I use fine sea salt when cooking and I reduced the amounts in case your salt is saltier or finer than mine. Taste and add, but remember you can’t remove salt from a dish.
Crawfish: Use frozen crawfish tails here. Unless you know your crawfish is super fresh, put the tails in a strainer and rinse until the water runs clear. The fat will get an off flavor as it ages so make sure you you get that off.
