Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (½ stick)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1/2 cup of chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup of chopped celery
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 cups seafood or chicken stock/broth
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• 1 pound of crawfish tails
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, plus extra for garnish
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion, plus extra for garnish
• rice for serving

Preparation

Chop the trinity (onion, green bell pepper and celery); parsley and green onions; then mince garlic and set aside.

Make a roux by melting butter in a large skillet over medium heat and stir in the flour; cook and stir constantly (this is important otherwise your flour might burn) for about 4 minutes or until caramel colored.

Add the onion, bell pepper and celery; cook another 3-4 minutes or until tender, add the garlic and cook another minute.

Slowly stir in the stock or broth until fully incorporated. Add salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning.

Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to a medium low simmer, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the crawfish tails, cook and stir until crawfish is heated through; stir in the parsley and green onion, reserving a bit for garnish.

Louisiana Travel

Ingredients

• 1 lb. crawfish tails
• 1 lb. cream cheese, softened
• 4 scallions
• 1 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp. chopped tarragon
• 1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
• 1/2 tsp. curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• salt
• lime juice
• 1/2 lb. phyllo sheets
• 1/2 c. butter, melted
• 1/2 c. breadcrumbs

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roughly chop crawfish meat and combine with cream cheese. Chop green and white of scallions and add to cream cheese along with cilantro, tarragon, garlic, and curry powder. Add pepper flakes, salt, and lime juice to taste.

Lay out one sheet of dough. Brush lightly with butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Repeat with two more sheets, stacking one on top of the other. Cut widthwise into three pieces. Place a large spoonful of filling in the corner of each piece and fold flag-style into triangle. Brush with butter and place on a tray sprinkled with breadcrumbs. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets. Bake until brown and crispy, about 10 minutes. Serves 10-12.

The hallway by the bathroom, Bayona

Ingredients

Boulettes

• 1 c. chopped onion
• 1 c. chopped celery
• 1 c. chopped green onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 lb. peeled crawfish tails
• 2 c. plain breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
• 1 tsp. hot sauce
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2 tbsp. melted butter

Bisque

• 1 c. flour
• 1 c. vegetable oil
• 1 c. chopped onion
• 1 c. chopped celery
• 1/2 c. chopped bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 c. chicken broth
• 2 tbsp. Kitchen Bouquet
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 lb. peeled crawfish tails
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning
• 1 tbsp. hot sauce
• rice

Preparation

Sautee the onion and celery in the butter for 3-4 minutes until they become soft. Add garlic and green onions and sautee for another minute. Fold in crawfish tails and sautee for 2-3 minutes more. Cool. Pour into a food processor and pulse until chopped. Place in a bowl and add eggs, breadcrumbs, seasoning, and hot sauce. Mix well. Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the stuffing to ping-pong ball size, then mold into the shape of a small football. This should make 18-20 boulettes. Place on the baking sheet. Brush the tops with melted butter and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Set aside.

In a stockpot, heat oil and add flour. Cook until the roux is the color of peanut butter. Add chopped onion, celery, and bell pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add garlic, cook for 15-20 seconds, then slowly add the chicken broth and stir until smooth. Whisk in tomato paste, Kitchen Bouquet, salt, seasoning, pepper, and hot sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add crawfish tails and boulettes. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Serve over rice.

225 Magazine

Ingredients

Pastry

• 1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 6 to 8 tablespoons very cold water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Filling

• 6 ounces fresh lobster or langostino meat, cooked, shelled and roughly chopped (or saltwater or fresh water crayfish)
• 1/2 cup alioli or homemade mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon tomato purée
• 1 tablespoon cognac
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup finely chopped scallions, including green part
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 to 3 hard-boiled eggs, cut lengthwise into 8 pieces
• 16 to 20 pimiento-stuffed green olives
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons water

Preparation

Pastry Directions

Using a fork, combine the butter and cream cheese. Sift the flour over the mixture. Add baking powder, cumin, vinegar, and water and combine with a fork. Flour hands generously and work the dough until it becomes a smooth, elastic ball, 3 to 4 minutes. Flour both the work surface and rolling pin. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick and cut it into 6-inch circles for main course-sized empanadas. For appetizer-sized empanaditas, cut the dough into 3-inch circles. Cover the pastries with a lightly floured towel until you are ready to fill them.

Filling Directions

Combine the lobster, mayonnaise, tomato purée, cognac, mustard, scallions, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly. Set the filling aside and keep it cool until you are ready to fill the empanadas.

Assembly Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Oil a large cookie sheet or line it with Silpat. Spoon the filling in the center of the pastry circles — about 2 tablespoons of filling for each main course empanada or 1 heaping teaspoon for empanaditas. Stuff an egg slice and 1 or 2 olives in the filling and fold the dough over the filling forming a half-moon. Beat the egg with the water to make a glaze. Moisten the open edges with the glaze and crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers to seal.

Place the empanadas on the cookie sheet and brush the top of each with the glaze. Bake them for 20 minutes, turn the heat down to 350°F and continue baking for about 5 minutes more or until the empanadas are golden. When the empanadas are done, remove them from the oven and cool them on racks for several minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

To freeze and reheat, place frozen cooked empanadas in a preheated 350°F oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Shirley Lomax Brooks, Epicurious