Crawfish Poutine

Ingredients:

Crawfish Étouffée

• 1/4 pound butter
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
• 2 tablespoons garlic, diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 pounds crawfish tails, cleaned
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup flour
• 2 quarts crawfish stock or water
• 1 ounce sherry
• 1 cup scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• Salt, to taste
• Cayenne pepper, to taste

Poutine Potatoes

• 2 pounds Idaho® Red New Potatoes, quartered
• 1 (3-ounce) crab-boil seasoning bag
• 3 tablespoons liquid crab-boil seasoning
• 3 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
• Vegetable oil for frying

Poutine Potatoes (see recipe)

• 8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded
• Crawfish Étouffée (see recipe)
• Scallions, sliced, for garnish
  

Directions:

Crawfish Étouffée

1. In a 2-gallon stockpot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic and bay leaves. Sauté until vegetables are wilted, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add the crawfish tails and tomato sauce and stir well into the mixture to combine.
3. Using a wire whip, blend the flour into the crawfish-vegetable mixture to form a roux.
4. Slowly add the stock or water, a little at a time, until a sauce consistency is achieved. Continue adding more stock or water as necessary to retain the consistency. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaves.
5. Add the sherry, scallions and parsley and cook an additional 5 minutes.
6. Season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper and reserve warm.

Poutine Potatoes

1. Cover the quartered potatoes with water in a large pot. Add the seasonings and salt. Bring to a boil and let boil for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit in cooking water until potatoes are just done but not overcooked, about 10 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes and let cool on a sheet pan.
3. Heat the oil to 350°F in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot. Fry the potatoes until golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes.
4. Cover fried potatoes with shredded Pepper Jack cheese and generously spoon crawfish étouffée and sprinkle scallions over the top. Serve immediately.