Total Calories: 444

10 pounds crawfish (If you don’t want to start from scratch, you can begin with 1 pound of crawfish tails.)
1/4 pound butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 onions, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
3 toes garlic, minced
bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup crawfish water
1/2 cup water
1 salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons minced parsley

To make this delicious étouffée, first you need 10 pounds of crawfish to boil. (If you don’t want to start from scratch, you can begin with 1 pound of crawfish tails.) Wash the live crawfish well a couple of times, then leave them for about 15 minutes in salted water to "purge." Even before you start this, though, have the courtbouillon in which the crawfish will boil cooking on the stove. (Put about 3 gallons of water in a pot and add to this 1 chopped onion, a few ribs of celery, 4 bay leaves, 1 chopped lemon, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne or Tabasco, and 1/2 cup salt.) Let this boil while you clean the crawfish.

When the crawfish are ready, dump them into the pot. Bring to a boil again and cook for no longer than 10 minutes before you remove the crawfish. Cool the crawfish and peel. Set aside 1 cup of the courtbouillon for later. (If you decide to buy the crawfish tails from your friendly seafood dealer, ask him for about 1 pint of the water in which he made his crawfish "boils.")

First, melt the butter in a large heavy skillet. Stir in flour and lightly brown. Add onions, celery, garlic, and bell pepper and sauté over low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft. Add the crawfish tails, tomato paste, thyme, basil, cloves, chili powder, lemon juice, crawfish water, and water. Mix well and cook for about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let simmer for another 10 minutes. Add the green onions and parsley.

Remove from heat and let stand for about 10 minutes, covered, to allow the seasonings to blend. All you need now is some rice to serve it over and a hunk of crisp French bread.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 1
Total Calories: 444
Calories from Fat: 267

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