Okay this post is going to make me look like a total food nerd, but so be it.
Last night I was making some crawfish étouffée for a friend and once again I was amazed by the power of roux. For those of you who don’t know what roux is, it’s french term for a cooked combination of flour and fat (I use butter, some use oil). Roux is the heart and soul of Cajun cuisine. Amazing how a simple combination of two ingredients can have an impact on a dish.
Here’s what cool about roux. You melt up a stick of butter in a pan and then you add in a half cup of flour and mix the two together. At first you have this fairly doughy mass, but as it continues to get heated and as you stir it, it breaks down into a liquid-y paste-y sauce of sorts. You keep stirring and cooking over low heat and gradually the mixture becomes more liquid, bubbles form and you keep stirring. About 5 or so minutes later the magic happens, the formerly whitish-yellow mixture starts turning the lightest shade of brown. Keep stirring, always stirring… the mixture starts to darken slightly and this scent that’s unlike anything else starts wafting out of the pan. Keep stirring and by the time you’ve hit 15 minutes, the roux is a rich nutty brown…
How dark you want your roux depends on what dish you are making. For étouffée,, I’ll make a dark peanut butter colored roux, while for gumbo I’ll go for a deep dark walnut, almost black roux. Butter, flour and constant stirring combine to make an ingredient like none other. Toss in your chopped “holy trinity”, green pepper, celery and onions stir it up and cook them with the roux and you’re on your way.
A few years ago my friend Aaron and I were cooking together, he at the left burner, me at the right. We were both making a roux, Aaron working on a gumbo roux while I was working on my étouffée roux. Same ingredients, same stove, different dishes, different rouxs with different flavors. That was cool.
Just writing about roux and thinking about last night’s cooking has me in the mood to keep going. With Linda and her family coming for dinner tonight, I think I’ll go make some gumbo!
If my indulgent roux discussion seems interesting, keep reading and you can get my étouffée recipe to try for yourself.
Scrappy’s Crawfish Étouffée
Ingredients:
* 8 ounces butter, divided
* 1/2 cup flour
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped celery
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon thyme
* 2 cups fish stock
* 2 pounds crawfish tails, peeled
* 1 cup chopped green onions, with tops
* 2 to 3 tablespoons sherry or good brandy, optional
Preparation:
Make a roux with 4 ounces of butter and flour, cooking over low heat until flour is dark brown; stirring constantly, 20 to 30 minutes. Keep heat low and stir constantly to prevent scorching.
Add the chopped vegetables and seasonings; cook until vegetables are softened.
Gradually stir in stock and let simmer 15 minutes or until thickened.
Add crawfish, green onions, remaining butter, and sherry; bring to a simmer. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes, cover, remove from heat, and let sit 15 minutes. Serve hot around a mound of rice.
Serves 4.