Name: Crawfish Etouffee
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: North America, Cajun
Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, cubed; 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1-1/4 cups chopped celery; 1 cup chopped green pepper; 1/2 cup chopped green onions; 3 cups chicken broth; 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 1 bay leaf; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 2 pounds frozen cooked crawfish tail meat, thawed; Hot cooked rice

Counted among Louisiana's most famous recipes, crawfish etouffee is a fragrant, flavorful, buttery seafood dish you can make in just about one hour.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, cubed

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1-1/4 cups chopped celery

1 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup chopped green onions

3 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 pounds frozen cooked crawfish tail meat, thawed

Hot cooked rice

Instructions

1 Make the roux

2 In a large cast-iron or heavy skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Whisk in the flour, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring, until the mixture turns a caramel color. Editor's Tip: Take your time when cooking the roux. The darker the color, the richer the flavor. This makes your etouffee tastier! Some regional versions opt for blond roux, which gives the etouffee a lighter flavor.

3 Make the gravy

4 Stir in the celery, pepper and onions. Stir in the broth, parsley, tomato paste, bay leaf, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil.

5 Simmer and add the crawfish

6 Reduce the heat, and place a lid on your skillet. Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaf, then stir in the crawfish. Heat through. Serve over rice.