Crawfish Dip With Fried Bow Tie Pasta

Ingredients:

CRAWFISH DIP

• 1 cup water
• 1 (1 oz.) package dried porcini mushrooms
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 lb. cooked crawfish tail meat
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley

FRIED BOW TIE PASTA

• 8 oz. hot cooked bow tie pasta
• 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 3 Tbsp. Creole seasoning
• Peanut oil, for frying
  

Directions:

Crawfish Dip

1. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat 1 cup water in the microwave on High until very hot. Add mushrooms, and let stand 15 minutes or until mushrooms soften. Strain mushrooms through a fine-mesh sieve. Reserve liquid, and finely chop mushrooms.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add green onion, and cook about 3 minutes or until softened. Stir in flour; cook 5 minutes.
3. Add chopped mushrooms, reserved mushroom liquid, and garlic; bring to a low boil.
4. Stir in crawfish, salt, and peppers; cook 5 minutes more. Reduce heat to low; stir in sour cream and parsley. Serve warm with Fried Bow Tie Pasta.

Fried Bow Tie Pasta

1. Arrange pasta in a single layer over paper towels to remove any remaining water.
2. In a large bowl, combine pasta, cornmeal, and Creole seasoning, tossing well to coat.
3. In a large pot or Dutch oven, pour oil to a depth of 2 inches; heat over medium-high heat until a candy or deep-fry thermometer reads 375º.
4. Shake excess cornmeal mixture from pasta, and add in small batches to hot oil; cook 4 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Remove pasta to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet to drain.
6. Pasta will keep up to 1 week in an airtight container.