shrimp étouffée (part one)

"I want comfort food."

The kids hadn't taken their naps, a show of unlikely solidarity amongst the three of them. It was a long day for all of us. Karen needed something special for dinner. So when she asked for comfort food, I was assuming garlic mac and cheese and a lot of chocolate for dessert. When I asked her to define "comfort," she surprised me with "Crawfish Étouffée."

So.

Étouffée it is. I've never tasted it before, but it's one of Karen's favorites, so we'll figure it out.

Google tells me I can get crawfish at Dean and Deluca. Too far downtown. Maybe Whole Foods has it in Columbus Circle, but there's no way to walk there, get the crawfish, and make the train before the kids go to bed. We settle quickly on subbing in shrimp. Karen tells me later that the shrimp were great, but crawfish would have tasted even better (fattier, richer). Feel free to use either.

I quickly found two recipes: one from Emeril and one from Paula Deen. I have nothing against either of them, but I was hoping to find some secret recipe to try, something that would unlock the deep mysteries of étouffée. No time for mysteries. The reviews for both recipes were good, so I went with Paula. When in doubt, go with butter.

Once I read the recipe, I figured out the deep mystery -- it's a giant roux with veggies and seafood. Thick, warm goodness. Food that reminds you that you feel full.

I love roux. Fat and flour. Perfect.

I was concerned about using oil instead of butter, but Paula notes in her recipe that butter burns and oil can withstand the long cook time. Some additional search time on Google supported Paula's claim. 26 minutes of oil and flour cooking on the stove. The whole house smelled warm and nutty. Again, perfect.


Paula's recipe calls for a green bell pepper. I don't believe in green bell peppers. I don't think they should exist. They infect everything with their aggressiveness. But red (or yellow or orange) bell peppers are mellow and sweet, with the taste of Spring, so I used red here.


The heat/spiciness is surprising. I love spicy food (at Indian restaurants, I ask them to make it spicy enough to make me cry), and I liked the level of heat, but Karen found it a little too aggressive. Adjust as you see fit. A couple extra/fewer shakes of the Tabasco bottle should help you get it just right.

The amazing thing about the longer cooking times here is that the vegetables maintained some crunchiness. Just a bit, but it was enough.


We served it over Jasmine rice. Any rice would work here. Or none at all.


The whole thing had so many levels going on -- spiciness, crunch, fat, warmth, sea -- we couldn't stop eating it. And I'd defintiely make this recipe again. But we're going to keep searching to unlock some mysteries. Apparently, once you start down the trail of étouffée, you can't stop searching for more.


recipe | shrimp étouffée (from paula deen)

(The next day, I needed a quick lunch. The kids had some leftover mac and cheese. I had some étouffée, minus the shrimp. In a moment of bravery and disgust, I combined them. It was incredible.)