It's Mardi Gras season and that means Cajun food. This is one of my favorite recipes for etoufee. I find 1-pound bags of cooked crawfish meat in the frozen section of our local grocery store. The recipe can also be made with shrimp, simply precook and chop the shrimp into 1/2 inch pieces.
Ingredients
1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup onion
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (reduce if you don't like it too spicy)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning
1 Tablespoon sweet paprika
3 cups chicken broth
1 pound cooked crawfish meat
White rice
Instructions
Make a roux by melting 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter in 12-inch frying pan. Gradually add the flour.
Cook, stirring constantly over medium-low heat until the roux is a deep golden color. This step may take up to 30 minutes. You want to achieve that dark golden color slowly without burning the mixture. The darker the roux, the more flavorful the etoufee.
In a separate skillet, melt 1 Tablespoon butter. Add onion and green pepper and cook until softened. Add spices and stir until blended.
Reheat the roux over medium heat. Add chicken broth and stir to blend. Add onions and peppers and simmer 10 minutes. Add crawfish. Cover and cook over medium heat until crawfish are warmed and mixture is slightly thickened.
Cook rice.
To serve, place a scoop of rice in serving bowl and ladle etoufee over top.