Sunday, April 1, 2012

Shrimp and Crawfish Etouffee

I winged this tonight and dayumn it was good.  Try it, you'll like it.  Paired well with champagne, for realsies.

Etouffee
1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp (start w/shells on though -- see below)
1/2 lb. cooked crawfish tails (okay, I used langostinos)
2 celery stalks, cut into small dice
1/2 Maui onion, minced
1 orange bell pepper cored and seeded, cut into small dice
2 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled and minced
1 small can generic, plain tomato sauce
1 cup shrimp stock (recipe below)
1/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste

Saute the celery, onion, and pepper in olive oil over medium heat until softened.  Add garlic and stir until fragrant.  Add tomato sauce, stir and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes.  Add the shrimp stock, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.  Whisk in the yogurt slowly (this adds a lovely creaminess to the sauce).  Simmer for about 15 minutes then turn the heat up -- if the sauce is too thick add a bit more shrimp stock.  Add the shrimp and stir until cooked through, just a few minutes.  Add the crayfish, stir, and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes.  Serve over or next to rice, with Tabasco sauce on the side.

Shrimp stock
Shells and tails from 1 lb. of shrimp
1 large carrot, peeled and quartered
1/2 Maui onion, halved
1 celery stalk, quartered
2 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled and minced
2 cups water to start
Salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a sauce pan, cover and boil for about an hour, adding water to keep the liquid at about two cups.  Strain and ladle into vegetables and tomato sauce above, as needed.