Crawfish étouffée
Crawfish Étouffée is a creole dish from Louisiana. The base of the dish is composed of a roux, or sauce made from equal parts butter and flour by weight. The dish employs a special technique known as smothering. Smothering is basically cooking in a pan with some liquid over low heat. Another unique aspect of the dish is that it uses the holy trinity of Cajun or Louisiana Creole cooking. This consists of onions, bell peppers, and celery which are all mixed into the roux. This concept of a holy trinity of ingredients is seen in other cuisines such as the Indian cuisine (ginger, onion, garlic) or the French mirepoix (onions, celery, and carrots). With the fall season rolling in, I just had to try making this at home. I have shared the recipe I used to make the dish below.
Ingredients
-2 sticks butter
-1 cup flour
-1 cup chopped onions
-1 cup chopped bell peppers ( I used one red and one green bell pepper)
-1 cup finely chopped celery
-2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
-1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
-1/2 teaspoon of paprika
-8 cloves of minced garlic
-12 ounces of diced tomatoes
-1/3 cup of clam juice
-1 pound of crawfish (available at frozen section at Walmart)
-1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper
-1 1/2 cup shrimp or vegetable stock
-Spring onions and parsley to taste
Instructions
-Heat a large non-stick pot and melt the butter.
-Once the butter has completely melted, gently sift in the flour. Gently stir to avoid making any lumps.
-Continue to cook the roux till it achieves a peanut-butter color.
-Add the chopped onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic to the roux and cover the pot with the lid. Stir occasionally to prevent formation of lumps.
-Cook for 15 minutes.
-Add in 1 1/2 cup of shrimp or vegetable broth.
-Now add in tomatoes, clam juice, seasonings, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
-Finally, add the crawfish and cook for 10 minutes.
-In a medium sized serving bowl, lay the Étouffée adjacent to some white rice.
-Garnish with spring onions and parsley.
