"Étouffée is a Louisiana seafood stew that differs from gumbos and Creole sauce-based dishes in that it’s traditionally made with a light or “blond” roux. My untraditional method bypasses the roux altogether."
3⁄4 pound (3 sticks) salted butter
2 cups diced onions
1⁄2 cup diced red (and/or green or yellow) bell pepper
2 tablespoons Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends Shrimp Magic or Home Creole Seasoning (recipe below)
1⁄2 cup water or Strong Shrimp Stock
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
1 (1-pound) package domestic peeled and cleaned crawfish tails
1 bunch green onions, chopped
hot cooked Jazzman rice or jasmine rice
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the onions. Cover and cook on low to medium heat to “sweat” the onions until soft but without coloring, about 30 minutes. Add the diced peppers and the Shrimp Magic, cover, and continue cooking an additional 15 minutes. Add the water or stock, bring to a boil and whisk in the cornstarch and water slurry. Simmer for a few minutes and turn off the heat. The mixture will be broken and oily at first, but you will be able to whisk it together as it cools.
If serving right away, stir in the crawfish tails and green onion and return it to a simmer for a couple of minutes. If the sauce “breaks,” just continue whisking until it comes back together.
Serve in warmed pasta bowls over hot rice.
Note: Refrigerates up to a week, but don’t add the crawfish tails or green onion until you serve it. To reheat, heat slowly while whisking, then add the tails and green onion.