Crawfish season is one sure sign of spring. Banners go up on restaurants, and parties start moving outside where guests can pile up their plates with the “little lobsters.” Actually, there isn’t a rigidly set season, such as with shrimp and crab, according to neworleansrestaurants.com. (The folks there should know; most of the crawfish produced in the U.S. comes from Louisiana.) But roughly from March to the end of June the harvest is in full swing and the freshwater shellfish are big enough to make the work of shucking them worthwhile.
We commonly picture spicy crawfish served up whole, maybe spread out on newspapers on an old table outdoors with corn on the cob, potatoes and maybe andouille sausage — all the makings of a wonderfully messy affair. But this is also a good time to think of other ways to use this Cajun delicacy high in protein, vitamin B12, niacin and copper, and low in fat.
Prepared in a similar fashion, the taste of crawfish and lobster is said to be close enough that a certain popular eatery in New York was using crawfish in its lobster salad for at least 15 years — and no one noticed.
“To be honest, if the crawfish and lobster are prepared in the same way, it is almost impossible to tell the difference between the two — though one could argue that the life of the lobster in salt water will make for a subtle difference,” reads cajuncrawfish.com. “The biggest difference in flavor has little to do with the creature, and more to do with regional preparation.”
The fact is, boiled, baked or cooked into a delicious etouffee, crawfish is a versatile food that can be used in crawfish bread, cornbread, au gratin sauce, bisque, stuffing and much more. Home cooks can find the miniature crustaceans at places like Brewski’s in Starkville, where a pound will run about $4. You can even get them live there, if you wish. Roadside stands are fairly common “pop-ups” this time of year, and most area grocery stores offer frozen crawfish all year.
Warm weather is here. Crawfish are plentiful. What better time to try out a new recipe?
SOUTHERN STYLE CRAWFISH BREAD
Serves 5-6
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 20 min
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 cup chopped green onions (tops and bottoms)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
4 cloves finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup white wine
1 pound peeled Louisiana crawfish tails, with fat
8 ounces cream cheese, cut into small squares
Cajun seasoning, to taste
1 (11-ounce) roll refrigerated French bread dough
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
(Source: louisianatravel.com)
CRAWFISH FETTUCINE
Makes 4-6 servings
1 (8-ounce) package fettuccine
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored and chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated skim milk
4 ounces reduced-fat pasteurized cheese spread
1/2 cup shredded, part-skim, mozzarella cheese
1 pound crawfish tails, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bunch green onion, chopped
(Source: crawfish.org/Holly Clegg, “Gulf Coast Favorites” cookbook)
CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Makes 6-8 servings
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 cup water
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 pounds frozen cooked crawfish tail meat, thawed
Hot cooked rice
(Note: You can serve this over cooked penne pasta instead of rice. You can also add more tomato paste for a deeper color and more cayenne pepper to boost the heat.)
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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