This recipe is from our New Orleans Kitchen feature.
Crawfish season is met by New Orleanians with the kind of anticipation usually reserved for Christmas dinner. That’s because crawfish boils are a portal into community on every level, from bar regulars to family members and friends. We are dead serious about crawfish consumption in these parts, in fact mudbugs were proclaimed the state crustacean in 1983.
Etouffée, which comes from the French word meaning “to smother,” likely got its start in Acadian communities in south Louisiana. The dish usually started with a light roux, although chef Shermond Esteen Jr. does his a little differently, sautéing the veggies in butter and adding a slurry later in the process to thicken the sauce. Of course, there’s the holy trinity, and a healthy shake of Tony Chachere’s Creole spice, a go-to in many a New Orleans home kitchen. He adds a teaspoon of sugar for just a hint of sweetness. Etouffée, made with crawfish during the season or shrimp, year-round, is a menu staple at Esteen’s restaurant Nonno’s on historic Bayou Road in Mid-City.
Esteen, who grew up in Algiers, recalls etouffée being in regular rotation, especially during Lent. “We usually did seafood on Fridays year-round,” he recalled. My mom used to cook it for the family. I do my own version — maybe because I don’t really know how she made hers. She never gave me the recipe.”
Crawfish Etouffée
Etouffée, which comes from the French word meaning “to smother,” likely got its start in Acadian communities in south Louisiana. The dish usually started with a light roux, although chef Shermond Esteen Jr. does his a little differently, sautéing the veggies in butter and adding a slurry later in the process to thicken the sauce.
4
servingsIngredients
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup water
4 Tbsp butter
1 12-oz pack crawfish tails
1/4 onion, diced
1/4 bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup Tony Chachere’s Creole spice
1/3 cup cup tomato paste (about half 6-ounce can)
1 tsp seafood boil (liquid)
3 bay leaves
Pinch of salt
1 tsp sugar
Directions
- Mix flour and cold water until flour is completely dissolved. Set aside.
- Melt butter in frying pan over medium low heat. Add onion, bell pepper, crawfish tails spices, bay leaves, seafood boil, tomato paste and sugar. Simmer, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.
- Pour flour mixture into pan, stirring to thicken for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve over rice.
