7/29/2018 – This was a great meal that provided equally great leftovers for many meals. It was inspired by the Shrimp Etouffee recipe in our copy of Treebeard’s cookbook on page 208. The idea is to prepare the blackened catfish in the oven broiler after the etouffee is well along. The way Mary did them was simple.
Crawfish Etouffee
1 cup butter
2-2/3 cups chopped celery (1/2-inch pieces)
2 medium onions, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 small bell peppers, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces – fresh from Atkins homegrown market
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
1/8 rounded teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
2 cups boiling water mixed with 1 teaspoon shrimp stock from the freezer
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped green onions (including tops)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley – did not use
4 teaspoons tomato paste
2 pounds crawfish tails that we boiled last Easter and that had been vac-packed and frozen
- In the blue enamel cast iron stew pot melt the butter. Add celery, onion, and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are almost tender.
- Prepared spices, shrimp base broth, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
- Add flour to simmering vegetables. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.
- Add spice mixture and cook until pot bubbles. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
- Stir in green onions, parsley, and tomato paste and simmer until vegetables are tender.
- Added crawfish and cook only until they were warm.
Blackened Catfish
- Thawed two fillets of catfish that had been vac packed after buying a few weeks ago in Keemah.
- Seasoned them with our 5POGS and put very thin slices of lemons on top of the seasoned fillets in a baking dish.
- Coated with melted butter and minced garlic.
- Backed until fish was flakey at 350, about 15-20 minutes.
Served the etouffee spooned over the catfish fillet that had been plated with a lot of the butter from that dish poured over the fish.
