Crawfish (or Shrimp) Étouffée

It's difficult to get my son to eat and it drives me crazy. He's got a sweet tooth, so he thinks I'm the world's greatest baker, but dealing with real food is always a challenge. He's smart enough to know that the packaged kid foods don't taste all that great, so he turns his nose up at those, but he'll look at other things and decide they're "ugly," and that he's just not tasting them. It goes on and on.

But one thing I can count on is his love of crawfish. Generally, he prefers to eat them at crawfish boils, where he peels some for himself, but always strategically places himself next to an adult who'll drop them in his mouth at a steady pace.

Crawfish season is over, though, so we'll make do with frozen crawfish until next season. Using frozen crawfish (and I only use frozen crawfish from Lousiana - the Chinese crawfish are too watery and don't taste like much), I made étouffée (ay-too-FAY) for my son for the first time. I knew that he'd decide it was "ugly" before tasting it, so I walked him through the recipe, showing him every single ingredient beforehand. He agreed to try it, then told me that he could eat étouffée every day of his life. Success!

This is a really easy dish to make. There's a little chopping and a short cooking time, making it a quick and satisfying dish for a weeknight. And since you may not have access to frozen crawfish, I'm also including a shrimp variation.

Bon appétit!

 

Crawfish Étouffée
(Serves 3-4) 

1 stick unsalted butter (1/4 pound)
2 cups chopped onion (I use yellow)
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
1 pound peeled crawfish tails (fresh or thawed)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
3 tablespoons chopped green onions (scallions)

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is foaming, add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and sauté until soft and golden, about 15 minutes. Add the crawfish and bay leaves. Reduce the heat to medium. Stirring occasionally, cook until the crawfish begin throwing off a little liquid (10 to 12 minutes for fresh crawfish tails, 5 or 6 minutes for thawed tails).

2. Dissolve the flour in the water. Add to the crawfish mixture and season with the salt and cayenne. Stir until the mixture thickens, 3 or 4 minutes. Add the parsley and green onions and cook for a couple of minutes, until the parsley is wilted.

3. Remove the bay leaves and serve over steamed rice. 

 

Shrimp Variation:
 

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell peppers
1 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup water
3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped green onions (scallions)

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter is foaming, add the onions, bell peppers, and celery and saute until soft and golden, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp, salt, and cayenne, and cook for about 4 minutes, or until the shrimp turn pink and start to curl up.

2. Dissolve the flour in the water and add to the shrimp mixture. Stir until the mixture thickens slightly. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the parsley and green onions. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes more, until the parsley and onions are wilted. 

3. Serve immediately, over steamed rice.

 

Comments

[Pot Sets]

Knowing to sit next to an adult at crawfish boils...hmmm...you have a smart boy! Your recipe for the crawfish or shrimp etouffee sounds divine. I totally agree with you that the frozen crawfish from China is flavorless, watery & just downright rubbery. If they aren't from Louisiana with all that good fat from the heads for added seasoning, then go for the shrimp etouffee. Either will be simply delicious.

[joy]

That looks so good.