Sunday Supper - Crawfish Étouffée

To commemorate the tail end of crawfish season (see what I did there?), I will pass along my family's recipe for crawfish étouffée. This dish was actually invented in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, where my family was born and raised. Just so you know that it's legit.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs Louisiana crawfish tails, precooked
• 3 cups onion, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 4-5 scallions, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 lb butter
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1. First, make a light brown roux using a cast iron pot (See Turbo Roux recipe, but use the oil and flour quantities listed above).
2. Add garlic and brown for 10 minutes.
3. Add onions, celery, scallions, butter, and just enough water to cover the vegetables. Cook covered for 15 minutes, stirring regularly.
4. Add 1 lb of the crawfish, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Cook for 30 minutes.
5. Add remaining crawfish and cook for 20 minutes.
6. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice.
7. Use 1 can of cream of mushroom soup with a few dashes of Kitchen Bouquet to stretch, if needed.

Delicious on its own or served over grilled/fried fish, corn maque choux, omelets, etc. The possibilities are endless . . .