Crawfish Étouffée
Photo: jeffreyw · CC BY 2.0

History

Étouffée is the canonical Cajun rice plate, traced to the Acadiana parishes west of New Orleans through the early 20th century. The dish became a New Orleans restaurant staple via Cajun migration to the city in the 1950s. Mandina's, Lil' Dizzy's Cafe and Atchafalaya all run defensible versions; crawfish season runs January through July.

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Common allergens: Shellfish, Dairy, Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 500g cooked Louisiana crawfish tail meat with fat (frozen is fine)
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 60g plain flour (for blonde roux)
  • 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, finely diced
  • 2 celery stalks, finely diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 spring onions, sliced (whites and greens kept separate)
  • 500ml seafood or chicken stock, hot
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp hot sauce (Crystal or Tabasco)
  • 2 tsp Cajun seasoning (Tony Chachere's or homemade)
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Cooked white long-grain rice, to serve
  • 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Method

  1. Melt the butter in a heavy casserole over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring continuously, until the roux is the colour of peanut butter (blonde, not dark).
  2. Add the onion, green pepper, celery and the white parts of the spring onion. Cook 8 minutes until softened.
  3. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
  4. Whisk in the hot stock a ladle at a time. The sauce will thicken to a heavy gravy.
  5. Add the Worcestershire, hot sauce, Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika and thyme. Simmer 8 minutes.
  6. Stir in the crawfish tails and any reserved crawfish fat. Cook 5 minutes; do not boil hard or the crawfish go rubbery.
  7. Taste and adjust salt, pepper and hot sauce; the étouffée should taste rounded but punchy.
  8. Plate a mound of white rice in each shallow bowl. Spoon over the crawfish étouffée.
  9. Scatter with chopped parsley and the green parts of the spring onion.

Tip from the editors. Louisiana crawfish, not Chinese, is the key; the flavour difference is enormous. The roux is blonde, not dark; that distinguishes étouffée from gumbo.

Where to eat crawfish étouffée

Crawfish Étouffée in New Orleans

Mandina's Restaurant ★ 4.3

$$ Cajun & CreoleMid City

Mandina's in New Orleans is the 1932 Mid-City Italian-Creole corner room on Canal Street, founded by Sicilian immigrant Sebastian Mandina and still serving.

OrderThe trout amandine. Add the spaghetti with red gravy and a side of bread.

TipSit at the bar for the streetcar view; the kitchen runs faster off the bar pickup.

Directions Book

Lil' Dizzy's Cafe ★ 4.6

$ Fried chicken

Lil' Dizzy's Cafe in New Orleans is the Baquet family's Treme Creole soul-food corner at Esplanade and N Robertson, with fried chicken and a lunch buffet.

TryFried chicken plate

TipLunch only Monday to Saturday 11:00-15:00; the gumbo and fried chicken combo is the canonical order.

Directions

Atchafalaya ★ 4.5

$$ $20 to $40BrunchBloody Mary bar Creole

Atchafalaya in New Orleans is the Louisiana Avenue Creole brunch room on the Garden District edge, with a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar, duck hash and live.

OrderDuck hash with sunny eggs; build a Bloody Mary at the bar.

TipSaturday and Sunday brunch with live music; arrive 09:30 or hold for the 13:00 turn.

Directions

Cochon ★ 4.5

$$$ CajunWarehouse District

Cochon in New Orleans is Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski's James Beard winning Cajun room on Tchoupitoulas, an ode to whole-hog cookery in a converted.

OrderThe cochon with turnips and cracklins. Then the rabbit and dumplings.

TipCochon Butcher around the corner sells the same charcuterie at a counter; cheaper and equally good for lunch.

Directions Book

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