Crawfish are not officially in season yet, but that doesn't mean we southerns can't already begin popping those heads and enjoying the spicy taste of those tails!

Below is a recipe from the Menu Musing of a Modern American Mom blog about how to cook a delicious crawfish fettuccine dish your friends and family will love!

Crawfish Fettuccine 

INGREDIENTS: 
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup flour
6 Tbsp fresh parsley
3 lbs crawfish tails, cleaned and rinsed. No fat left on them
1 qt half and half
1 lb Velveeta jalapeno cheese
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 lb fettuccine noodles
8 oz sliced mushrooms, fresh or canned
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 -2 cups chicken broth
salt, pepper and creole seasoning (Tony Chachere's) to taste

INSTRUCTIONS: 
Triple rinse the crawfish tails to get rid any residual fat and take away any of the "fishy" odor. Then just let them drain off to the side in a colander. If you want all the flavor of the fat, don't rinse.
If you live in an area where you can not find local, Louisiana crawfish. You can purchase them online at Tony's Seafood and they will ship them to you.

Chop the vegetables, and saute in melted butter. When wilted and softened, add the flour.






Cook over low, stirring frequently until vegetables are nice and soft. You don't really wanted to cook it so long that your flour starts browning. We're just making a very light roux. 



Add half and half, Velveeta cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, creole seasoning, and mushrooms. You could probably use evaporated milk here if you have some on hand in the pantry.


half and half
Mexican Velveeta with jalapenos.
Chopped garlic
Seasonings
Cook for 20 min or so over low, stirring frequently. It will become really silky after a bit. See all the delicious spices? If your sauce becomes too thick, thin it out a bit with the chicken broth. You could also use some milk, white wine, etc. Remember that you will be baking it, which will further thicken it; and also the noodles will suck up some of the sauce. So I would recommend making it a little soupier than you feel you will need it in the end.

**This is when you want to start boiling the water for the noodles. Ideally, you want these 20 minutes to correspond with the noodles being cooked and drained so neither of them has to sit and wait on the other one.

Finish off the sauce with a couple tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce (and maybe a couple of shakes of hot sauce would be excellent, too!).  Also add in the parsley at this time. This adds another level of depth to the sauce.



Cook and drain the fettuccine noodles according to package directions (about 11 minutes), then add them immediately to the sauce mixture.



Add the crawfish tails to the sauce, then stir in the grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

*Chef's Note: "Please do not use that stuff that they sell in the green can that calls itself Parmesan cheese. A recipe is only as good as its ingredients."


Poor dish into a greased casserole dish, or something similar to one. Bake uncovered for about 15 - 20 min in a 350 F oven. 

 


ENJOY! 

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Posted by: Julie Thomas, Visit Baton Rouge



Julie is the Communication Intern for Visit Baton Rouge. Before relocating to Baton Rouge, Julie lived in Haughton, Louisiana and attended Louisiana State University in Shreveport where she graduated in May 2014 with a degree in public relations. She now attends LSU as a graduate student at the Manship School of Mass Communications. She loves reading, watching Law and Order, playing with her dog, traveling and exploring the amazing city of Baton Rouge. You can follow her on Instagram or on her personal blog.