Easy Étouffée

Don’t be scared away by the crawfish! You can make this spicy creamy sauce to serve over shrimp, white fish, chicken, or even pork. The possibilities are endless. 

Any cajun meal always reminds me of my best friend, the Cajun Queen Christine! She has taught me the amazing flavours of Louisiana cuisine. 

Étouffée is a French word that means “smothered” or “suffocated.” As you can see in the photo, the crawfish is smothered with a combination of chopped vegetables and tomatoes in a rich light roux. Étouffée brings together all of the hallmarks of Louisiana cooking: Seafood, a flour-and-oil roux, the “Holy Trinity” of onion, celery and peppers, traditional Cajun seasoning and hot sauce.

Another one of my Louisiana  friends, Alaina suggested Louisiana’s Cajun Land seasoning to use when cooking Cajun meals. You can order some from Amazon. It definitely will give your food a cajun kick!

When making this crawfish Étouffée recipe, I like to use freshly boiled crawfish when I can. You can also grab frozen crawfish tails from the freezer section at your local grocery store. If crawfish tails aren’t your thing, then shrimp, fish, chicken or pork will do. My mom and dad used andouille sausage and said it was delicious! Just saute the protein of your choice before adding it to the sauce. 

So pour yourself a glass of Scout and Cellar 2018 CHE FICO PINOT GRIGIO RISERVA and let’s get cooking! 

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp flour
• 4 tbsp of butter, divided
• 1 1/2 cup of half and half
• 1 shallots, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 cup of chopped bell pepper (I like to use a mixture of red, orange, and yellow)
• 1/4 cup of freshly chopped parsley (or 1 tbsp of dried parsley)
• 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 3 tbsp of tomato paste
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 1 tbsp of Cajun Seasoning (I usd Cajun Landing but Tony Chachere’s works too)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound (16 oz.) peeled crawfish tails or protein of your choice.

Instructions

Put flour and butter in a pot and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the onion, pepper, celery, parsley, and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes.

Pour in half and half and whisk until there are no lumps.

Add the tomato paste and whisk.

Add 1 cup of the water or broth and whisk until smooth. Let cook for 2 minutes stirring often.

Pour in the other cup of the water/stock and stir. If this is the desired consistency you would like, there is no need to add any additional water or stock. If you would like the etoufee to be thinner pour a little more water at a time.

Add cajun seasoning. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the crawfish tails into the pot and squeeze the lemon juice on top and stir.

Allow the crawfish to warm in the pot for about 4-5 minutes, then serve with rice and sprinkle with sliced green onions.

www.scoutandcellar.com/whiskawaykitchen

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