) with a new recipe. A little something from the vault. Most of these come from our cook book, with recipes passed down from both myself and my wife's families -- who have both been settled in Southeast LA between Baton Rouge and New Orleans for numerous generations. But I'll need some help from the readers. Feedback, thoughts, questions, etc are all welcomed and appreciated. I think the hardest thing for me to keep in mind is what's readily available down here isn't always available everywhere else and vice-versa. If I'm going with something that I'm not sure will be available to everyone, I'll try my best to offer purchasing ideas and/or substitutions as necessary. With that, let's roll on week one's recipe....
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
2 cups onion, chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup celery, chopped
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups crawfish tails (** see below)
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon liquid crab boil (Zatarain's is preferred)
Cornstarch to thicken
Melt butter in a heavy pot. Saute onions, garlic, green pepper and celery until onions are clear. Add 1/8 cup water and simmer covered until all seasons are tender (15 minutes, give or take). Add tails and other powder/liquid seasonings . Cook (covered) for 15 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Add green onions and parsley. Cook another 5-10 minutes until all seasonings are nice and tender. Thicken a little with cornstarch if needed and allow it to cook long enough for the gravy to thicken. Over cooked rice, this should serve 4-6 people.
** Shrimp can be used as a substitute
** Buying crawfish online is tricky. Stay away from Chinese-imported crawfish, as they are harvested mainly using loosely regulated labor laws and they cut into the local farmers who have made a living giving you full sized farm raised Louisiana crawfish. You'll also see through a generic internet search that some people will try to charge you up to 90 bucks for 5 pounds of tail meat or so. Terrible. For reliable, quality crawfish raised and farmed in the Gulf Coast, check these guys out. 20 bucks, shipping included. Can't beat it.
http://www.lacrawfish.com/Crawfish-Tails-C32.aspx
