Crawfish Etouffee

1 lb. peeled crawfish tails
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 celery rib, finely chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
2 tbsp. flour
2 md. tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine or chicked broth
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tbsp. chopped parsley

Directions:

Season crawfish tails with salt and pepper; set aside.

In a saucepan, melt butter with lemon juice over med-high heat. Add onion, garlic, celery, and yellow pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add crawfish tails and cook until firm, about 5 minutes.

Stir in flour to blend. Add tomatoes and wine, raise heat to high, and bring to a boil. Season with cayenne pepper and remaining salt and pepper (see comments). Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Serve hot, garnish with parsley.

Comments from Kim Clark :

The most important thing about preparing this dish is the amount of cayenne pepper you use. Some people like just a hint of heat while other like their lips blazing for hours. Start adding it in very small amounts until you get it just right. Once you\'ve added too much, there\'s no going back. Also, crawfish tailmeat can be purchased with the shells already removed at some larger grocery stores and specialty seafood shops. This dish works great as a stew or served over rice and is very colorful and festive. Good luck.

User Reviews:

Sounds wonderful! I'd make it that way myself. When crawfish are not available, shrimp are a wonderful replacement. In fact, I think I rather it, as shrimp is my favorite seafood.

Submitted by Georgieanna Cooke on November 01, 2001

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