Crawfish Etouffee

Ingredients

• 2 pounds cooked crawfish tail meat with its fat
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 medium onions, finely diced
• 1 green bell pepper, finely diced
• 3 celery ribs, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups seafood or chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 4 cups cooked long-grain white rice

Before you cook

• Thaw the crawfish tails if frozen and keep every bit of the orange fat clinging to them.
• Dice the onions, bell pepper and celery as fine as you can.
• Warm the stock in a small saucepan so it will not seize the roux.

Steps

1. Melt the butter in a wide heavy skillet over medium heat until it foams.
2. Whisk in the flour and stir constantly for 8 minutes, until the roux is the color of light sand.
3. Add the onions, bell pepper and celery all at once and stir to coat them in the roux.
4. Cook the vegetables for 12 minutes, stirring often, until they are completely soft and starting to melt.
5. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
6. Pour in the warm stock a cup at a time, whisking each addition smooth.
7. Add the Creole seasoning, cayenne, white pepper and salt.
8. Simmer the sauce for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
9. Add the crawfish tails and all their fat and stir gently.
10. Cook for 5 minutes only, just to heat the crawfish through, since they are already cooked.
11. Stir in the lemon juice and taste for salt and heat.
12. Take the pan off the heat and fold in the scallions and parsley.
13. Mound rice in each bowl and spoon the etouffee over it.