Crayfish Etouffee

⏱ 65 mins 🍽 6 serving(s) 🏷 Crawfish

This dish offers a unique take on a classic Cajun etouffee, featuring a rich, spiced tomato sauce with crayfish. The mixture is spooned over golden fried tortillas for a crisp base, then finished with grated cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream. While crayfish tails are traditional, uncooked shrimp make a fine substitute. The recipe yields enough for six servings.

Crayfish Etouffee

Ingredients

  • 1 (28 ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes, drained (juices reserved)
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
  • salt & freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • vegetable oil
  • 6 flour tortillas (or corn)
  • 1 lb cooked crayfish tail, meat
  • grated cheddar cheese
  • sour cream

Method

  1. Dice the tomatoes until you have 1/2 cup, setting the rest aside for another use.
  2. Place the butter in a large skillet and melt it.
  3. Cook the onion, celery and green bell pepper in the skillet, stirring until the onion turns translucent, for about 5 minutes.
  4. Add the flour, lower the heat and continue stirring for 5 minutes, ensuring it does not brown.
  5. Incorporate the garlic, cayenne pepper, thyme, basil and season with salt and black pepper.
  6. Pour in the white wine and add the diced tomatoes, then bring the mixture to a boil.
  7. Lower the heat and let it simmer for 8 minutes, stirring now and then and thinning the sauce with the reserved tomato juices if needed.
  8. The sauce can be made a day in advance. Let it cool, cover and refrigerate. Reheat it gently, stirring all the while.
  9. Pour vegetable oil into a separate large skillet and heat it.
  10. Fry the tortillas in batches until they are golden on each side, roughly 2 minutes, then transfer them to serving plates.
  11. Stir the crayfish meat into the warm sauce and cook for 2 minutes, then spoon it over the prepared tortillas.
  12. Finish by sprinkling the etouffee with grated cheddar cheese and adding a dollop of sour cream to each serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sodium250600 mg

Recipe details

CategoryCrawfish
AuthorLeslie in Texas