Crawfish Bisque

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1/2 cup corn oil or 1/2 cup bacon fat
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 -2 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery & leaves, chopped
• 4 scallions, and green parts chopped seperately
• 1 quart water
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 8 allspice berries
• 3 cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 lbs uncooked crayfish tails, with fat if available
• hot freshly cooked rice

Recipe

• 1 heat the oil in a large, heavy pan.
• 2 add the flour and cook, stirring, to make medium brown roux (the color of peanut butter).
• 3 add the onion, garlic, celery and the parts of the scallions and cook until softened, stirring occasionally.
• 4 gradually stir in the water, then add the tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf, 4 tbsp of the parsley, allspice berries, cloves, salt, peppers, cayenne to taste and the lemon juice.
• 5 bring to a boil, stirring well.
• 6 chop about one-quarter of the crawfish tails and add with the fat, if available.
• 7 cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• 8 add the remaining whole crawfish tails and simmer, covered for 15 minutes or longer.
• 9 stir in the green parts of the scallions and the remaining parsley.
• 10 serve hot over rice.
• 11 note*** if available, add 12 or more stuffed crawfish heads (thawed if frozen) 5 minutes before serving.