Crawfish Enchiladas

Someone PLEASE! PLEASE tell me what is the best way to plate and even photograph enchiladas! It is so difficult! Yesterday when I made these enchiladas I gave up trying to get a photo and just ate. I put the leftovers in the frig. This morning I tried again. They were cold and much easier to serve. The results are much, much better; but you still can't tell there are two enchiladas on the plate. If you have any tips I would love to hear them.

Well back to the food! These are not a Cajun or Mexican recipe I got from Maw Maw or a Mexican grandmother. This is just something I made up many years ago. I think it might have even been a pantry and frig raid. You know those nights when you make something out of what you got. They turned out so good. There was something about Louisiana crawfish, the trinity of veggies, the cream of mushroom soup and the enchilada sauce that almost replicates an ettouffe. But then again you can still taste the chilies in the enchilada sauce. Oh and the cheese! That's definitely more Mexican than Cajun. These crawfish enchiladas might be the best of both worlds. I hope you will give them a try. This is a delicious way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a little bit of Louisiana style.

Crawfish Enchiladas

Serves 4 to 5

Ingredients

1 to 2 tsp. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 ribs celery, sliced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

Handful of fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 lb. frozen crawfish tails, thawed

1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup

1 can red enchilada sauce (mild)

1 to 2 cups Italian cheese blend, shredded

8 to 10 small flour tortillas

Kosher salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste

Parsley, to garnish

Directions

Set crawfish aside to thaw. Preheat oven to 375°. Next chop the all veggies into a small dice. Heat a skillet over medium high; add a tsp or more olive oil and sauté onion, celery and bell pepper. When onion is translucent add mushrooms. Sauté a little longer until mushrooms are soft. Add crawfish and heat through. Then add cream of mushroom soup and 1/3 can of enchilada sauce. When heated through add a hand full of cheese and stir to melt cheese. Take off stove and roll a spoon or two of filling in flour tortillas. Place in baking dish. Reserve some filling pour over top of enchiladas. Top with the remaining enchilada sauce and some more cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve garnished with parsley. Delicious with a green salad and avocado as a side.

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Just for Laughs! 

Below is my first serving of enchiladas I tried to photograph. 

It was the best photo too!

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Crawfish Ettouffe

There seems to be as many different recipes for Crawfish Ettouffe as there are cajuns. I remember when I went to work for an Architect here. He gave me his recipe for Crawfish Ettouffe and he said he used flour and butter to make a roux. I was shocked? I went home to question my Mom. Were we doing it wrong or was he? I was still a young woman with hardly any years behind me at the time. I don't even think I had cooked an ettouffe yet, I had just helped Mom. She explained that everyone does it differently and it really depends on the ingredients. If the ingredients are dry and don't lend liquid to form a gravy you sometimes have to help them out. She used cornstarch and water if it ever happens to her. Others make a light butter roux. Now with more years behind me and lots of blogs read and cooking shows watched; I know people add everything from a roux, bell pepper, stock, cajun seasoning, etc. Our family recipe is very simple and delicious. The flavor of the crawfish really shines through. Mom was taught by her Mom and they always just used butter, onion, maybe some celery, salt, pepper, green onions and parsley. As dear sister pointed out it is buttery and a little sweet. So good!

For this pot of ettouffe I used some frozen tails dear sister bought from a co-worker. His second job is a seafood business called B&D Seafood. He brings the delicious seafood of south Louisiana to all of us up here in north Louisiana. The crawfish tails were delicious and included the crawfish fat. They were certified Cajun and a product from right here in Louisiana. I will definitely buy from him again. His crawfish were so much better than the brands I find in my grocery store. We have one more pound in the freezer. I look forward to another crawfish dish real soon. I hope you will give our crawfish ettouffe and B&D Seafood a try.

Crawfish Ettouffe

Serves 4 

Ingredients

1 stick butter

1 onion, finely chopped (Mom sometimes adds a little celery, I used 1 rib)

1 lb. crawfish tails, reserve crawfish fat

Salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes (or cayenne), to taste

a handful of parsley, chopped

3 green onions, sliced

Cooked white rice

Directions

Melt butter in a pan add the onion (celery if using) and cook until translucent. Add crawfish fat and crawfish tails. Season with salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Simmer covered 30 minutes. Stir in parsley and green onions. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve over rice.

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Crawfish Boil Soup

I guess I still haven't curbed my crawfish craving. I saw a recipe for Crawfish Boil Soup and it sounded so good. But the recipe had milk and flour in it. That did not sound like a crawfish boil to me. So I decided to make my own recipe. It really turned out good. This soup had lots of spicy crawfish flavor. It gets its spice from Cajun seasoning and a can of Rotel. I decided to puree the tomatoes because you don't have chunks of tomatoes at a crawfish boil. I added one link of smoked turkey sausage because after all some people do include sausage when they boil crawfish. I used Richard's turkey sausage, it is a delicious low fat sausage that is a mix of turkey and pork. I didn't forget the corn and potatoes. I love how the corn gave the soup some sweetness. Dear sister said it was tasty tasty. I agree. Definitely something I will make again. I decided to garnish it with parsley, green onions and lemon zest. The lemon zest was because we always throw lemon halves into our crawfish boil. It was delicious! Now I think I can't wait til spring for more crawfish.

Crawfish Boil Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 bell pepper, diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

Spiced Salt, to taste

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 link of smoked turkey sausage, sliced (5 to 6 oz)

1 medium potato, diced

1 (15 oz) can corn, undrained

1 (10 oz) can original Rotel tomatoes, pureed*

1 quart fat free low sodium chicken broth

1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning

1 lb. crawfish tails

Parsley, chopped

Green onion, sliced

Lemon zest

Directions

In a large stockpot, heat butter and oil over medium-high heat until butter is melted. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery, and cook until onion is soft. Season with Spiced Salt. Add garlic, bay leaf, sausage, and potato; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.

Add corn, pureed Rotel and broth. Bring to a boil, add Cajun seasoning, and crawfish tails. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Remove the bay leaves and serve. Garnish with parsley, green onion and lemon zest, if desired.

Note: *If you are sensitive to spicy food use mild Rotel or maybe tomatoes with onions and garlic.

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Crawfish Gumbo

Here is a Gumbo that I did not grow up eating. In fact, I know my mother never made one. And my Maw Maws never served one to me. The first time I had this gumbo was when I lived in Central Texas. There was a Cajun restaurant we would go to for a little taste of home. We would get a shrimp po-boy and a cup of gumbo. One of the gumbos they served was Crawfish Gumbo. Honestly that was the first time I ever heard of it. It was rich and delivered that rich gumbo flavor I was missing. 

Well dear sister has been asking for a gumbo and I kept saying when it is a little cooler. I told her I was thinking about trying to make a Crawfish Gumbo and she was not thrilled with the idea. Since that conversation I have had both crawfish and gumbo on my mind. So I bought some frozen crawfish tails in wait for the temperature to drop. Well it has been cooler now for three days. With dear sister out of town I thought I would try my Crawfish Gumbo experiment and put my mind to rest.

It was actually a pretty easy gumbo to put together I was able to cook it Thursday evening. I did add some things I don't normally put in my gumbos; rotel, garlic and bay leaf. I thought they would work well with the crawfish. I like the spicy flavor of boiled crawfish and wanted it in my gumbo. I also waited to the end to add the crawfish tails because I did not wanted them to get tough. Well although this turned out to be a great rich pot of Gumbo, I have to say I was a bit disappointed in the crawfish department. I think I will try this one more time in the spring when crawfish are in season. I want to be able to make a stock with the shells. The crawfish was second fiddle to the roux in this pot. I think adding a crawfish stock will boost the crawfish flavor. Or maybe I am a purest and just like my crawfish boiled? No, I love Crawfish Bisque and Crawfish Etouffee. I think this recipe just needs to be re-visited in the spring.

Crawfish Gumbo

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 large onion, small dice

1/2 green bell pepper, small dice

3 ribs of celery, small dice

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 lb. Andouille sausage, sliced into half moons

10 oz. can rotel tomatoes, undrained

1 bay leaf

Kosher salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and creole seasoning to taste

2 lbs. crawfish tails, peeled

1/2 bunch of parsley, finely chopped

1 bunch green onions, sliced

2 cups rice, uncooked

Directions

Prepare rice to package directions. Dice all vegetables and set aside.

To prepare the roux place flour and oil in a large heavy pot. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon over medium -high heat until roux is the color of dark caramel to milk chocolate. When roux is the correct color add onion, bell pepper and celery. Season the roux with salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and creole seasoning. Stir occasionally to make sure it does not stick. You can cover pot in between stirs. You are looking for the veggies to be soft and create liquid in the roux. When veggies are soft add the Andouille sausage. Cook until sausage appears cooked. Add the rotel tomatoes and bay leaf stir to combine. Slowly add two quarts of warm water stirring as you go. When all the water has been incorporated bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer for 1 hour. Next add the crawfish and simmer for 30 minutes. Add green onions and parsley. Check seasonings and add to taste. Serve over cooked rice in large soup bowls. Garnish with more green onion, parsley and file (optional).

To see photos of preparing a Roux, check out this previous post:

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Craving more Gumbo, check out these previous pots:

Gumbo Vert

Seafood Gumbo with Whole Crabs

Turkey Gumbo

Linking to:

My Mixing Spoon: Random Recipe Roundup Linkie Party
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Call Me PMc: Marvelous Mondays
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop
The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen: Show Me Your Plaid Mondays
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesdays
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin Wednesday
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Crayfish, Lobster & Crab