Crawfish Etouffee

Take a trip to the Big Easy with just one bite of this traditional cajun dish.  Serve it over a plate of rice and enjoy the mesh of all the great flavors. You can buy crawfish tails frozen in most seafood freezer sections. I actually bought mine at Walmart. Enjoy!

  INGREDIENTS:

 

1/2 c	(1stick) unsalted butter
1/2	all-purpose flour
1/4 c	peanut oil
4 lg	onions, finely chopped
4	celery ribs, finely chopped
1 lg	green pepper, finely chopped
4 Tbsp	chopped fresh garlic
2	bay leaves
6	fresh thyme sprigs or 1/2 tsp dried
3 Tbsp	worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp	cayenne pepper
4 c	chicken stock
3 lb	crawfish tails, drained and juice reserved
2 c	heavy whipping cream
	salt and black pepper to taste
	a couple of dashes of tabasco
	white rice, cooked
6	green onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1) Make a roux by combining the butter, flour, and oil in a heavy pan and cooking over low heat until a dark caramel color, about 15-18 minutes.

2) Add all the vegetables except the green onions and cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes.

3) Add the bay leaves, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne pepper. Slowly pour in the stock, whisking to incorporate it into the roux.

4) Add the reserved crawfish juice and cook over low heat for about 1 hour,or until no flour taste remains.

5) Add the crawfish tails and the cream. Mix well. Season to taste with the salt and pepper and dashes of tobasco cook for 5 minutes more and serve over steamed white rice. ( I like the Calrose rice the best)

6) Garnish with chopped green onions.