Crawfish Étouffée

This quick, and delicious, Louisiana iconic dish is easy to make, with one technical task, making the roux. The good news, a roux is easy to make with a little practice, I learned when I was 6 years old.
This recipe can be a little spicy so feel free to reduce the cayenne, and/or, white pepper.
Make this on a cold winter, or cool spring, evening.

Crawfish Étouffée
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Seasoning Mix:
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp White pepper
• 1/4 tsp Ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp Dried basil leaves
• 1/4 tsp Dried thyme leaves
Trinity:
• 1/4 Cup Chopped onion
• 1/4 Cup Chopped celery
• 1/4 cup Chopped green bell peppers
Roux:
• 4 Tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1/4 Cup AP flour
Étouffée:
• 1 1/2 Cup Fish (or shrimp) stock
• 1/4 lb. Unsalted butter (1 stick), in total
• 1 lb. Peeled crawfish tails (or medium shrimp)
• 1/2 Cup Very finely chopped green onions
• 2 Cup Cooked rice

Method:
1. Mise en place.
2. Preheat oven to 200F
3. In a 2-quart sauce pan, heat the fish stock until just simmering.
4. Combine seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl.
5. In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the Trinity.
6. In a large, heavy bottomed, skillet (preferably cast iron), heat the oil over high heat until
just smoking. With a whisk (long handled), gradually mix the flour with the hot oil,
whisking until smooth, with no lumps.
7. Continue cooking, whisking constantly (you cannot walk away from this), until the roux
is a reddish, dark brown. See note.
8. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the Trinity, along with 1 tablespoon of
the seasoning mix. Continue stirring with a wooden spoon, or high-heat silicone spatula.
9. Return the roux to a medium-high heat and gradually add the hot fish stock to the roux
mixture, combining well between additions.
10. Bring the Étouffée mixture to a boil and immediately reduce heat to medium-low.
11. Place serving bowls into the preheated 200F oven.
12. In a separate sauté pan, melt ½ stick of butter. Add the crawfish tails and sauté until
translucent, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat, add the green onions and remainder of
seasoning mix and stir to combine.
13. Add the crawfish mixture to the Étouffée
14. To serve, scoop, or mound, ½ cup of cooked rice into the center of a serving bowl. Add
the finished Étouffée around the rice.
15. Garnish with green onions.
16. Enjoy!

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