3 TB canola oil
3 TV=B flour
1 yellow onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
Half a red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Leaves from two sprigs of fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and diced
1 quart shellfish stock
3 tablespoons butter
1 pound peeled crawfish tails (from 2 1/2 pounds live)
2 green onions, chopped
2 dashes Worcestershire
2 dashes Tabasco
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups cooked rice (see recipe below)
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk the flour into the very hot oil. It will immediately begin to sizzle and fizz. Keep whisking and reduce the heat to moderate. Continue whisking until the roux takes on a gorgeous dark brown color, about 15 minutes. Add the onions, reduce the heat, and cook until the onions caramelize. If you add all the vegetables at the same time, the water that results will boil the onions and their sugars won’t caramelize.
When the onions have turned the roux shiny and dark, add the celery, bell peppers, garlic, thyme, cayenne, and paprika. Cook for 5 minutes. Now add the tomato and the Shellfish Stock and increase the heat to high.
Once the sauce has come to a boil, reduce the heat to moderate and let simmer 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Be careful not to let it burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.
Reduce the heat to low and stir in the butter. Add the crawfish tails and green onions. Season with Worcestershire, Tabasco, salt and black pepper. Once the crawfish tails have heated through, remove the saucepan from the heat.
Serve in individual bowls over rice.
Rice Recipe
1 TB Butter
1 small onion, minced
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
3 cups stock (chicken or shellfish)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp salt
Put butter and the onions into a medium saucepan and sweat the onions over moderate heat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour the rice into the pan and stir for 2 minutes, gently toasting the rice. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf and salt.
Cover the pan with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 18 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, fluff the rice with a fork and serve.
This recipe was adapted from My New Orleans by John Besh.