I have made this for family plenty of times and they loved it! It delicious and full of flavor , try something new in the kitchen #AfricaApproved.
Ingredients
shrimp (prawns) or crawfish, 2 lbs (approx. 750 g), peeled and deveined
yellow onion, 1 large, finely diced
celery, 3-4 stalks with leave, finely diced
bell pepper, 3-4 mixed color, finely diced
garlic, 3-5 cloves, finely diced
olive oil, 1 tbsp
butter, 1 stick (approx. 125 g)
all-purpose white flour, 1/2 cup
crushed tomatoes, 2 16-oz (approx. 400-g) cans
bay leaves, 3-5 whole
cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp
black pepper, 1/2 tsp
seafood of fish stock, 2 qts (approx. 2 L)
scallion (spring onion, green onion), 5-7, chopped into thin rings
flat-leaf parsley, small bunch, finely chopped
salt to taste
long-grain white rice, 1 cup, steamed
Methods
In an 8 qt (approx. 8 L) stockpot, make a medium-brown roux by melting the butter with the olive oil on a medium-high heat. The olive oil will help prevent the butter from burning. Once melted, add the flour and stir slowly. Allow the flour to toast in the butter until it becomes medium-brown in color. Immediately fold in the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic to the roux – this will stop the flour from browning further. Sauté the mixture on a medium-high heat until the vegetables are soften and begin to lose shape, then stir in the crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, cayenne pepper and black pepper. If you’re using fresh crawfish, add them now too. Once combined, slowly stir in the stock and bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. If you’re using fresh shrimp, add them after 45 minutes (giving them 15 minutes to cook). After simmering for 1 hour, fold in the scallions and parsley. If you are using precooked shrimp or crawfish, stir them just before serving as well. This will give them time to heat through without overcooking them – no one likes rubbery seafood! Serve over steamed rice (see below).
Additional Tips
The perfect steamed rice: In a small pot (e.g. 2 quarts), combine 1 part rice with 2 parts water (e.g. 1 cup rice to 2 cups water). Ensure the rice is level on the bottom of the pot, and bring the water to a boil. The moment the water boils, cover the pot with a lid (a glass lid is best as you can check the rice without uncovering it), and turn the heat as low as it goes (on a gas stovetop). If you’re using an electric stovetop, you’ll have to immediately move the pot to a pre-warmed eye set to low; this is because it takes time for electric eyes to cool and the residual heat will burn the bottom layer of rice. Allow the rice to steam until all of the water has been absorbed by the rice (usually 15 to 20 minutes), and you’ll have perfectly steamed rice. Most importantly, don’t open the lid before the rice is done, you’ll let the steam escape and the rice won’t cook correctly; conversely, continuing to cook the rice after all of the rice has been absorbed will result in burned rice.