Now that you have had a delicious crawfish boil, now you are looking for ways to use up the leftover food. Any potatoes can be used for mashed potatoes or sliced and sautéed in butter for a quick side dish. The garlic, onions and sausage can be used in any recipe that calls for those ingredients. The crawfish, however, beg for recipes.
Crawfish Pastalaya is a take on the iconic South Louisiana dish Jambalaya. Pastalaya is basically a jambalaya with pasta replacing the rice in the dish. The first restaurant to make this substitution was Mr. B’s in the French Quarter. It has since been copied by many restaurants. Here is my interpretation, using crawfish is place of the more common chicken often found in Pasta Jambalaya.
Crawfish Pastalaya
2 pounds Crawfish Tails 12 ounces uncooked Bow Tie Pasta 1/4 cup Olive Oil 1/2 cup Onion, diced 1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper, diced 1/4 cup Yellow Bell Pepper, diced 4 tablespoons Garlic, minced 1/2 cup Tomato Sauce 2 tablespoons Flour 1 quart Chicken Stock 1 tablespoon fresh Thyme, chopped 2 tablespoons fresh Basil, chopped 1/4 cup Green Onions, chopped Creole Seasoning, Salt and Pepper to taste
In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell peppers and garlic. Sauté for 3 to 5 minutes or until the vegetables are wilted. Sprinkle in the flour and, using a wire whisk, stir constantly until a white roux is achieved. Add stock, one label at a time until all has been incorporated. Add tomato sauce, thyme, basil and season to taste with Creole Seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a rolling boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Gently blend in crawfish into the simmering liquid. Add green onions and fold in the pasta. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until the pasta is al denté and the liquid has been absorbed.
More often than not, there are not enough crawfish for an entrée. One day, with only a small amount of crawfish left over, I created this dish. I used all of the leftover seasonings, sausage and crawfish in this one dish. The added seasoning from the crawfish boiling water add to this great appetizer.
VooDoo Rolls
10 ounces Crawfish Tails 2 teaspoons Creole Seasoning 1/4 cup Onions, minced 3 cloves Garlic, minced 6 ounces Andouille or Smoked Sausage 5 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce 8 ounces Shredded Mozzarella Cheese 20 Egg Roll Wrappers
Put Creole Seasoning on crawfish tails and toss to cover. Sauté onions and garlic in Worcestershire sauce for 2 minutes. Add crawfish and sausage. Sauté for 3 minutes more. Drain and allow to cool. Mix cheese with the cool meat mixture. Place egg roll wrapper on a dry surface. Place 2 tablespoons of the meat and cheese mixture in the middle of the wrapper. Fold the sides of the wrapper 1/2 inch over the mixture. Wet one end and roll towards that end. Press to seal. Fry rolls at 375℉ until golden, about 2 minutes. Make sure to turn the rolls so that both sides cook evenly. Serve with Casian Dipping Sauce.
After making the VooDoo Rolls a few times, I thought it could use a dipping sauce. I started playing with my Asian ingredients that I had on hand. Looking for a sweet note, I reached for Steen’s Cane Syrup. This ingredient gives the sauce its Cajun influence. My neighbors, Jay and Caro, said it was a hit and took the sauce home to use with other items.
Casian Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce 1/2 teaspoon Rice Wine Vinegar 1/2 teaspoon Sesame Oil 2 teaspoons Garlic, minced 2 tablespoons Cane Syrup, I prefer Steen’s Cane Syrup 1/4 teaspoon Fresh Ginger, grated 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha Sauce (optional)
Mix together all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to combine. Remove from refrigerator 20 minutes before serving.
Of course, you don’t have to use leftover crawfish for these recipes. You can buy packaged already peeled crawfish tails at most grocery stores. Just make sure you are buying Louisiana crawfish tails and not an imported product. The Louisiana tails have a better flavor.
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