Crawfish Etouffe (The Hard Way and The Easy Way)
6 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. chopped bell pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme (or EASY: dump dry thyme in as desired)
2 1/2 cup fish or shrimp stock (HARD: Make stock by boiling crawfish shells, heads, etc. in water with cut up onion or EASY: 2 1/2 cup canned chicken broth)
1 c. diced tomatoes (or EASY: 1 can diced tomatoes, rinsed and drained)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper
Hot pepper sauce
2 tsp Worcestershire
2 lb crawfish tails - save shells to make broth (or EASY: 2 lb frozen crawfish tails, thawed)
1/2 lemon, juiced (or EASY: a few teaspoons of lemon juice)
1 c. chopped green onions
1/4 c. chopped parsley (or EASY: sprinkle dried parsley till it looks right)
In a large heavy saucepan, melt 4 tbsp butter and whisk in flour. Make peanut butter-colored roux. (The only way to make a roux easier is to keep a bottle of wine by the pot.) Add veggies and seasoning. Cook 6 to 8 min. Add stock, tomatoes and spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 30 min. Add crawfish, lemon juice, green onions and parsley and cook for 15 to 20 min. Add remaining butter and stir to combine. Serve over rice.
I have tried it both ways. Both are delicious!
