Subj:  Crawfish Etoufee

From:  EBWATERS

Crawfish Etouffee:A classic southwestern Lousiana Cajun 
dish, a spicy hot stew always
served with rice.  You will need about 2 1/2 to 3 doz. 
crawfish to prepare this.  If you
obtain live ones, parboail them for 3-4 min.
to make peeling easy.  Be sure to scoop out and save 
the fat that is in the heads--it is an
essential part of the stock.  Frozen crawfish  where 
available, greatly  simplifty the
prepreation.

For Four: 1 1/2 c. crawfish tails (about 30 tails)
1/2 c. crawfish fat, kept refrigerated
6 tbs. salt butter
1/4 c. flour
1 c. chopper onions
1/2 c. chopped green pepper 
1/2 c. chopped celery
1 tbs. finely minced garlic
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/16 tsp. cumin
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/3 c. thinly sliced green onion tops
1 tbs. finely minced parsley
1 c. cold water
2 c. hot water, approximatery boiled rice.

In heavy 5-6 qt. pot or kettle, melt the butter over 
low heat. Gradually add
the flour, stirring constantly.  Cook over low heat 
until a med. brown roux is formed,
abour 15 -20 min.   Quickly add the onions, green pepper, 
celery, and garlic and continue
to cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are 
glazed and tender, about 20 min. 
Add the crawfish tails,
crawfish fat, salt, black pepper, cayenne, cumin, lemon 
juice, green onion
tops, and parlser and mix well.  Add the 1 c. cold water 
and bring to a boil, or until the
crawvish fails are just tender.  Shortly before serving, 
heat
the etouffe slowly over low heat and gradually add 1-2 
c. hot water to provide the gravy. 
Serve over boiled rice.