Basic Shrimp or Crawfish Étouffée

配料

Ingredients

• 57g unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

• 57g all-purpose flour (or somewhere between ¼ and ½ a cup if measuring by volume; see notes below)

• 1 cup chopped onion

• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

• 1/2 cup chopped celery

• 2 tsp. minced garlic

• 2 cups seafood or chicken stock (whichever is easiest to get)

Black/cayenne/white pepper, to taste, or just use some Cajun seasoning (Watch out, though: It can be easy to oversalt with Cajun seasoning, and go easy on the pepper - you're supposed to taste other flavors, too.)

• 1 lb. crawfish tails or 1 lb. 51-70 ct. peeled shrimp, drained

• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, plus extra for garnish

• 1/4 cup sliced green onion, plus extra for garnish

Splash of wine or beer (I like cheap red wine or High Life for this step)

步骤

1. Over medium heat, melt the butter and incorporate the flour to make a roux roughly the color of peanut butter. It should smell slightly nutty when it's right.

2. Toss in the onion, bell pepper, and celery with the roux and cook it down until it's translucent and visibly re- duced in size. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant; be careful not to let it burn.

3. Crank up the heat to medium-high and stir in the stock until it's fully incorporated with the roux and trinity. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes until slightly reduced. It should start to visibly thicken (see if it coats the back of the spoon).

4. Add a dash or two of salt, the black/cayenne/white peppers, and/or the Cajun seasoning, along with the splash of wine or beer. Start tasting and checking sea- soning here. Check seasoning early and often.

5. Add your shrimp or crawfish tails along with the parsley and green onions. Make sure your seafood is drained so you don't add unnecessary liquid. (If you're using shrimp, cook until no longer translucent. If using crawfish tails, cook until warmed through.)

6. Check for seasoning again and balance as needed. The seafood will likely add additional water, so you've got to check the seasoning constantly. If you oversalt, dilute with some water and/or wine or beer.

7. When it's ready, serve over hot rice. Garnish with pars- ley and green onions.

备注

• The common wisdom is that a roux is made with fat and flour in a 1:1 ratio. If you're using volume measure- ments, that often leaves you with more fat than the flour can bind, which you then have to skim off. The 1:1 rule works best when measuring by weight, which is always my first recommendation. If you don't have a food scale, you can usually safely add up to 50% extra flour by volume, but start with an extra teaspoon or two at a time until you reach your desired consistency. • If you're gluten-free, have no fear: You can use sweet rice flour in a 1:1 swap for regular all-purpose flour and it hardly makes a difference. The same rules and tech-