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Prep time
45 minutes
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Cook time
10 minutes
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Serves
4 to 6
Author Notes
Mardi Gras is coming up, and I’m hosting this year. Our neighbors are from New Orleans, and I wanted to give them a taste of home. Nothing can take a person home quite like food does. Isn’t it powerful how a dish can be so distinct that you can still taste it and remember the flavors no matter how much time has passed? The flavors, aromas, even the way to eat it (in this case with a crusty French bread that can act as your spoon) all come rushing back with the first bite. It’s almost as good as being home.
During Mardi Gras, étouffée is a must, I’ve made some minor tweaks to this classic and put my spin on this traditional Cajun and Creole dish.
What is étouffée anyway? Simply put, it is a delicious spiced and buttery stew of shellfish over white rice. The dish is Louisiana through and through, from its French roots to its use of crawfish. The dish is meant to smother, and smother it does. There’s nothing more comforting than a bowl of hot étouffée and white rice, smothering the rice in the buttery sauce, and sopping it up with some bread.
First, a disclaimer: Most étouffée recipes these days start by calling for Creole seasoning, which is a pre-made, dried spice blend; I believe we can do better. Instead, I try to get as much flavor out of fresh ingredients as possible. I add quite a bit of fresh garlic and onion for flavoring, along with a fresh bay leaf and espelette (instead of cayenne), and finish with lots of fresh lemon juice for acidity. This balances all the flavors of the dish and helps you taste the sweet crawfish and savory spiced sauce.
While not traditional in this dish, espelette is a fruity and mildly spicy dried ground chile made from the espelette pepper that is native to the Basque region of France. It provides a wonderful flavor and just the right touch of heat to the dish while also paying homage to étouffée's French roots.
Étouffée uses the holy trinity, which refers to celery, bell peppers, and onions. This provides the foundation of flavor to build the stew on. From there, spices, aromatics, stock, and crawfish come together with a blonde roux and bubble away to create a super-flavorful and distinct dish. I hope you try this Mardi Gras to make étouffée for yourself and bring a taste of New Orleans to your home. —Sean Patrick Gallagher
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Ingredients
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1 cup
salted butter, divided
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1/2 cup
all-purpose flour
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1
large yellow onion, finely chopped
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1
large green bell pepper, finely chopped
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3
celery stalks, finely chopped
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3
large garlic cloves, finely chopped
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1
fresh or dried bay leaf
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1 1/2 tablespoons
Diamond Crystal kosher salt
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1 tablespoon
espelette or 1½ teaspoons cayenne (which will make it spicier)
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1 tablespoon
sweet paprika
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1 tablespoon
tomato paste
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1 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
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1/2 teaspoon
dried oregano
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1 quart
chicken stock
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1 pound
crawfish tails, cleaned (crawfish tails are authentic, but large shrimp can be substituted)
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6
scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, plus more for serving
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1/2 cup
chopped parsley leaves and tender stems, plus more for serving
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1 tablespoon
fresh lemon juice (from about 1 medium lemon), plus more for serving
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1 tablespoon
Louisiana hot sauce (I prefer Crystal), plus more for serving
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1 teaspoon
Worcestershire sauce
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2 cups
cooked white rice
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Crusty French bread, for serving
Directions
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In a small nonstick saucepan over medium heat, melt ½ cup of the butter until bubbling, then whisk in the flour and continue to cook, whisking, for 4 to 5 minutes, until the flour turns a light brown color. Remove from the heat and continue to whisk—it should be a deep golden color but not brown like for gumbo.
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In a large heavy pot over medium-high heat, cook the remaining ½ cup of the butter until bubbling. Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery; reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes, until slightly softened. Add the garlic and the bay leaf and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 6 minutes to develop the flavors.
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Add the salt, espelette, paprika, tomato paste, pepper, and oregano. Stir to combine and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the tomato paste is a shade darker.
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Add the roux and stir to combine. Slowly whisk in the stock to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
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Add the crawfish meat and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the scallions, parsley, lemon juice, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine and heat through.
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To serve, ladle the hot étouffée over the rice. Top with more scallions, parsley, lemon juice, and hot sauce (if you prefer). Serve with some really good crusty French bread.
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