re: The Origin of Crawfish Etouffee

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I agree with you. In Chef Folse's Encyclopedia of cajun & Creole Cuisine, which most Louisiana cooks and culinary schools use as a first resourse, he states that crawfish was made popular when the WPA projects of the Great Depression encouraged cajuns to fish and process crasfish for retail. Up to that point anyone wanting crawfish had to go out and fish the shellfish and the swamp, take it home and then work to boil, peel and then cook the dish. Ettouffee comes from the French phrase "to smother or braise" which is what was done with many meat and fish dishes prior the the retail sales of peeled crawfish. One would ettouffee chicken and corn, duck and turnips, and later crawfish when it became mor available. It is for his reason, Folse states, that crawfish etouffee made it's way to menues throughout New Orleans and South Lousisiana after the 1930-40 era. Hope this helps.

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That is a lengthy first post...welcome to the board

I was hesitant to bring this up, but Folse apparently thinks it's more Creole than Cajun. Go figure.

This is from Folse's website:

Louisiana Style Crawfish Etouffee
PREP TIME: 1 Hour
SERVES: 6

COMMENT:
The French word "etouffee" means to stew, smother or braise. This technique is found in dishes using shrimp, crab, crawfish and, in some cases, meat or game. Though more Creole in origin, etouffees are found throughout Cajun country.

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 pounds cleaned crawfish tails
* 1/4 pound butter
* 1 cup onion, chopped
* 1/2 cup celery, chopped
* ½ cup green bell pepper, chopped
* ½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
* ½ cup tomatoes, diced
* 2 tbsps garlic, diced
* 2 bay leaves
* 1/2 cup tomato sauce
* 1 cup flour
* 2 quarts crawfish stock or water
* 1 ounce sherry
* 1 cup green onions, chopped
* ½ cup parsley, chopped
* salt and cayenne pepper to taste
* Louisiana Gold Pepper Sauce
* 2 cups white rice, steamed

METHOD:
In a 2-gallon stock pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic and bay leaves. Sauté until vegetables are wilted, approximately 3-5 minutes. Add crawfish tails and tomato sauce and blend well into mixture. Using a wire whip, blend flour into the vegetable mixture to form a white roux. Slowly add crawfish stock or water, a little at a time, until sauce consistency is achieved. Continue adding more stock as necessary to retain consistency. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sherry, green onions and parsley and cook an additional 5 minutes. Season to taste using salt and cayenne pepper. Serve over steamed white rice using a few dashes of Louisiana Gold Pepper Sauce.

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