Crawfish Archives - The FrangloSaxon Cooks

The Sauce

First you chop and saute the leeks and garlic, then you make a roux as described below. I usually do it all in the same pan but for the purposes of illustration I did it here in two pans so you can see how the roux should look. It’s cooked just enough for everything to be combined but it needs to stay pale.

The Crawfish

The amount of shelled crawfish depends on you. It should have at least one cup if you are using this as a sauce over fish (as pictured here), or up to two cups if you are shooting for something more filling. Two cups are about what you’ll find in those pre-shelled frozen plastic bags of crawfish. Use that and the dish will clock in as faster than the hamburger drive-thru. If you are using crawfish in the shell buy at least a pound, do a quick boil and shell before adding to the sauce. Although this recipe is quick to prepare it does need time on the back end for the flavors to develop, so when it’s done move it off the burner, cover and let it sit for a bit.

Stir and Serve

Give it a stir before you ladle it out and if you find the sauce to be too thick thin it with some chicken broth or water. Goes well with an Orange Arugula Salad, so make and enjoy!

Crawfish Cardinale

Author: Carine Clary

Cuisine: Creole

Ingredients

5 Tbs. butter
⅓ cup diced green onions (or leeks)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbs. flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup half & half
1 cup crawfish tails
¾ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. paprika
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs of thyme (or ½ tsp. thyme)
1 Tbs. Cognac
1 Tbs. dry Vermouth (or white wine)
3 Tbs. finely minced parsley

Instructions

Melt butter over very low heat and add onions and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes until soft.
Add the flour and cook for a couple of minutes. This is the roux and it should stay pale.
Slowly add the half and half and tomato paste.
Add the remaining ingredients and let cook, stirring constantly, on low for about 10. Take it off the heat and let it rest for about 10 minutes so that the flavors can develop.
Remove bay leaf.
Garnish with parsley and serve.

Notes

This sauce should be rich but not floury. If it becomes too thick during the simmer just add a few tablespoons of water or chicken broth to thin it.

This can be served over pasta, in a puff pastry shell, or over a grilled fish as a sauce.

Some versions of this recipe call for no alcohol (which is also good) and some call for much more. This is a very quick cooking dish so I opt for less cognac and vermouth. It doesn't really have much time to cook off the liquor so if you add too much it tastes harsh.

Crawfish Monica! What says Jazz Fest to you right after the music? The food! And besides the smoked turkey wings and gumbo what says it the most? Crawfish Monica! So if you can’t make it to the food tent consider your kitchen your very own tent and make it like this.

Invented on a whim by chef Pierre Hilzim and named after his wife Monica, Crawfish Monica was born in the 80s and is now served at Jazz Fest and available to order from their company Kajun Kettle.

Ingredients

My version is very similar but since I also love fennel in all its forms I decided to add it and it’s good (if you like fennel.) I also did a version with leeks instead of green onions but the taste wasn’t different enough to warrant the trouble and expense of the leeks so it was back to green onions.

Sub lemon juice for the wine

The only other variation was the use of lemon juice only instead of wine and lemon juice. If you have wine by all means use it but the lemon serves well. And one other thing – I like lots of crawfish so I only use half a pound of the rotini instead of the whole box, but you can always add more if you need or want to stretch it.

To get started you need to get choppin’ the fennel:

There’s a hard part at the base that needs to be removed, the rest you just chop into small pieces so it will cook quickly. You’ll want to keep the feathery top for garnish and extra flavor.

To finish up

Once the veg has softened add the cream, spices and crawfish (I get the bagged kind) and set it aside to let the flavors meld while you boil the pasta. I use rotini because it’s traditional and those little kinks hold the sauce well. However, it’s also great for parties while eating on the hoof since you can eat it with a spoon like this:

So happy listening & Crawfish Monica eating during this latest Jazz Fest season!

Crawfish Monica

Author: Carine Clary

Cuisine: Creole Italian

Ingredients

For the sauce:
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 cup sliced green onions (white part, reserve green tops)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 diced fennel bulb (retain tops)
½ cup chopped parsley
1 tsp. ground fennel
1 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
¼ cup lemon juice, scant (or half lemon juice/half white wine)
2 cups heavy cream
1 lb. crawfish meat tail meat
1 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, divided, half for sauce, half for topping
For the Pasta:
½ lb. Rotini

Instructions

For the sauce:
In a large pot melt the butter and add the green onions, garlic, and fennel. Cook over medium heat until softened but not brown, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Add parsley, ground spices, salt, and red pepper flakes, and cream.
Stir in crawfish meat with the fat and gradually add the lemon juice tasting it along the way. You may prefer a little less than ¼ cup.
Once the crawfish is heated through add the cheese.
For the pasta:
Boil the rotini in salted water according to package directions, let drain for several minutes, and add to the sauce.
To serve:
Place in serving dish or individual bowls and add reserved parsley & cheese to taste.

Crawfish Cardinale

The Sauce

The Crawfish

Stir and Serve

Crawfish Monica

Ingredients

Sub lemon juice for the wine

To get started you need to get choppin’ the fennel:

To finish up

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