Crawfish Etouffee
Crawfish tails smothered in a rich, buttery blond-roux sauce with the holy trinity, garlic and Cajun spices, served over white rice. Serves 6.
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Etouffee means "smothered," and here crawfish tails are smothered in a velvety sauce made from a butter roux, the holy trinity and seafood stock. It is one of the great dishes of Cajun country.
Frozen Louisiana crawfish tails are sold at many fish counters; peeled shrimp work just as well.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups seafood or chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 2 pounds cooked crawfish tails, with their fat
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- Cooked white rice, for serving
Instructions
- Make the roux. Melt the butter in a large skillet, whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, 8 to 10 minutes, until the color of peanut butter.
- Trinity. Add the onion, pepper and celery and cook 8 minutes until soft, then the garlic for 1 minute.
- Sauce. Whisk in the stock, tomato paste, seasoning and cayenne and simmer 15 minutes until thickened.
- Crawfish. Stir in the crawfish and simmer 5 minutes, just until heated through. Stir in the green onions and parsley.
- Serve. Serve over white rice.
Tips
- Add the crawfish fat from the package; it gives the sauce its flavor.
- Use peeled shrimp instead, simmered 3 to 4 minutes until pink.
Questions about this recipe
- What does etouffee mean?
- "Smothered" in French, for the seafood smothered in thick sauce.
- Can I use shrimp instead of crawfish?
- Yes; shrimp etouffee is just as traditional.
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