How to Make Crawfish Etoufee - Crawfish Tails

Cajun cooking has a long legacy of recipes past from one generation to the next. Crawfish etoufee is one of these creole recipes that has withstood the test of time. Now, like nearly every other technique used in cajun cuisine, the process of cooking a good etoufee varies from one chef to the next. For instance the famous roux, used as a base for several spicy cajun stews, is a must have for some die hard cooks, while a tomato base is called for by others. For the purpose of this mouthwatering, lip smacking recipe of full of crawfish tails and creole goodness, we will make the tomato based version. Let's get the pan hot and practice the fine art of cooking crawfish etoufee.

First things first, here is what you will need to be successful.

• 3 cups white onion - chopped
• 1/2 cup green onions - chopped
  
• 6 gloves garlic - minced
• 2 cups celery - chopped
• 2 cups bell pepper - chopped
• 1/2 cup or one stick butter
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 3 Tbs corn starch
  
• 3 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp hot sauce (or to your taste)
• 4 Lbs Louisiana crawfish tails. If you live in an area where live crawfish are not readily available, there are several distributors online that have live crawfish shipping down to an art. Some of them will even cut you a break on shipping if you purchase some of there other wares.
  

Heat the butter in a large sauce pan. Saute the onions, celery, garlic and bell pepper until the onions are clear and tender. Mix in the tomato paste and water (and wine), stirring until well blended. Add salt, hot sauce and pepper to taste.

Cook on low heat 25 to 30 minutes stirring occasionally ( water can be added to thin if desired). Add the green onions and crawfish tails and cook an additional 10 minutes. Serve over cooked rice. Enjoy

Well that does it, I hope you have enjoyed making this staple of Cajun cuisine - Crawfish Etoufee