Ragin' Cajun

Cajun food is probably my Dad's favorite genre of food. He has certainly passed that love on to me. The only problem is that it tends to be very heavy on butter, meats, and seafoods. Paul Prudhomme is especially known as a butter, oil, and lard-heavy chef. Here is his version of Crawfish (or Shrimp) Étouffée, which is absolutely delectable. When we made it, we used veggie sausage and mushrooms instead of the shrimp and cut the butter to about 1/2 a stick. The étouffée was still incredibly rich and satisfying, but I didn't feel quite so terrible about eating it. I hope you enjoy this Cajun meal as much as I did.

Crawfish (or Shrimp) Étouffée (Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen, Paul Prudhomme)

Seasoning mix:

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)

1 tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. dried sweet basil leaves

1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves

1/4 cup chopped onions

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped green bell peppers

7 Tbs. vegetable oil

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups, in all, Basic Seafood Stock [or vegetable stock]

1/4 lbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, in all

2 lbs. peeled crawfish tails or medium shrimp

1 cup very finely chopped green onions

4 cups hot Basic Cooked Rice

1. Thoroughly combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl combine the onions, celery, and bell peppers.

2. In a large heavy skillet (preferably cast iron), heat the oil over high heat until it begins to smoke, about 4 minutes. With a long-handled metal whisk, gradually mix in the flour, stirring until smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until roux is dark red-brown, about 3 to 5 minutes (be careful not to let it scorch in the pan or splash on your skin). Remove from heat and immediately stir in the vegetables and 1 Tbs. of the seasoning mix with a wooden spoon; continue stirring until cooled, about 5 minutes.

3. In a 2-quart saucepan bring 2 cups of the stock to a boil over high heat. Gradually add the roux and whisk until thoroughly dissolved. Reduce heat to low and cook until flour taste is gone, about 2 minutes, whisking almost constantly (if any of the mixture scorches, don't continue to scrape that part of the pan bottom). Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Heat the serving plates to 250 in an oven.

5. In a 4-quart saucepan melt 1 stick of the butter over medium heat. Stir in the crawfish (or shrimp) and the green onions; sauté about 1 minute, stirring almost constantly. Add the remaining stick of butter, the stock mixture and the remaining 1 cup stock; cook until butter melts and is mixed into the sauce, about 4 to 6 minutes, constantly shaking the pan in a back-and-forth motion (versus stirring). Add the remaining seasoning mix; stir well and remove from heat (if sauce starts separating, add about 2 Tbs. more of stock or water and shake pan until it combines). Serve immediately.

6. To serve, mound 1/2 cup rice on each heated serving plate. Surround the rice with 3/4 cup of the étouffée.