Crawfish Monica with sweet pepper garnish
If you know me, you know that Thursday is “pasta night.” There is little variation from that. It was the way it was as I was coming up and it is the way I prefer it now.
Unfortunately, every 1st and 3rd Thursday is also city council night. As such, I am often attending the meeting, which starts at 5;30 pm, and that throws dinner off schedule.
Last night, cold, damp, grey, was a council night. And a pasta night.
It was also the Thursday before Mardi Gras and just a few days after the Superbowl played in the Superdome, so I was especially attuned to New Orleans food inspirations.
In discussing dinner early in the day, I teasingly tossed out the idea of having Crawfish Monica for dinner. While we had everything we needed on hand (including the crawfish tailmeat), the evening’s schedule wasn’t condusive to an involved dinner prep.
We decided that pasta e fagioli would pass muster for Thursday night’s dinner. It could be slow simmered sans pasta until I was on my way home from city hall.
But the crawfish monica stuck in my mind.
With the threatened Snow-easter scheduled to come in overnight, we were prepared to batten down the hatches, have an adult beverage or two, build a fire and enjoy a relaxing dinner.
Crawfish Monica seemed to fit the bill.
It’s a rich dish. Fortunately, it is also satisfying so you don’t need to consume tons.
The dish screams NOLA! It is comforting and slightly decadent. And it let afforded me the opportunity to have pasta two nights in a row.
Here’s a version of the dish from Emeril Lagasse and found on the Go Nola website.
Crawfish Monica
- 1 pound linguine or fettucine
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup chopped yellow onions
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/4 cup dry white wine2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 pound crawfish tails*
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Return to the pot and toss with the olive oil and reserved cooking liquid. Cover to keep warm.
In a large saute pan or skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, Essence, salt, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the white wine and cook over high heat until nearly all evaporated. Add the cream lemon juice and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced. Add the crawfish tails and cook, stirring, to warm through. Add the onions and parsley and cook for 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat with the sauce. Cook until the pasta is warmed through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add 1/2 cup of the cheese.
Turn out into a serving bowl and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Serves 6 – 8
*What? You don’t have crawfish tailmeat in the freezer? Why not? Check the frozen seafood section of your favorite supermarket or fish monger. You can order it online from Cajun Grocer. I know, it is not cheap. Splurge and get a couple of pounds to keep in the freezer. You never know when you might want to make some crawfish etoufee or crawfish cheesebread (a recipe I’ll get around to posting someday). And if you can’t find the crawfish tailmeat or don’t want to order it, use the small “salad” shrimp that are readily available in the grocery store.
Just remember to rename the dish, SHRIMP Monica.
Dj'eat? 