Soup-A-Palooza-Crawfish Gumbo

Soup-A-Palooza

One of my co-workers noticed something about me the other day.  "You always bring soup to work."  I hesitated for a moment and noticed that yes indeed, I bring a bowl of soup to work at least once a week.  But then again, I do make soup at least once a week for dinner.

I love soup almost as much as I love sandwiches, which are my fave, so when Dine & Dish announced the Soup-A-Palooza blog party I knew I had to participate.  What are you waiting for!?!  Come join Soup-a-Palooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by Bush’s Beans, Hip Hostess, Pillsbury and Westminster Crackers.

So let me introduce you to Crawfish Gumbo-rich flavor from the dark roux, sweetness from the red bell pepper, a delicate smoky flavor from the sweet smoked paprika and a good amount of spice thanks to the cayenne and hot sauce. So delicious.

You say Etouffee, I say Gumbo

This recipe comes from My New Orleans, by John Besh.  It was a recipe for etouffee, but after cooking it, it still seemed "soupy."  Generally, an etouffee is a smothered dish and a lot thicker.  I searched for others who had made the dish and had found several people experience the same consistency.  Even the picture in the book looked to be more gumbo-like than etouffee...so with that said, we call this recipe Crawfish Gumbo at our house!  Regardless of what you want to call it, it is FABULICIOUS!  (yes, I made that word up!)

Crawfish Gumbo

yield:  4-6 servings

Feel free to substitute the crawfish meat with chicken, andouille sausage or even shrimp.  Either way, it will be delicious! 

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3 Tablespoons Canola Oil

3 Tablespoons Flour

1 small onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

half red bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika

1 small tomato, seeded and diced

1 quart shellfish or seafood stock

3 tablespoons butter

1 pound crawfish

2 green onions

2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

2 dashes Tabasco

salt and pepper

3 cups rice, cooked

1. Make the roux.  Heat canola oil of medium high heat; add flour, reduce heat to medium and whisk continuously until the color is dark.  (15 minutes)
2. Add onion and reduce heat.  When roux is shiny and dark add the celery, bell pepper, garlic, thyme, cayenne and paprika.  Cook for 5 minutes
3. Add tomato and stock and increase heat and bring to a boil.  Once it has come to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring often.
4. Reduce heat to low and stir in butter.
5. Add crawfish, green onions, Worcestershire, Tabasco and salt and pepper.  Heat through.  Serve over rice.

***Cooks Note:  I used frozen cooked crawfish tails, rinsed well.