Crawfish Time!

It’s also time for our deliciously sweet freshwater crustaceans to be in season. The crawfish farmers are forecasting a good year and you can order them from us so get your equipment (boiling pot and butane burner) out of storage and prepare for a backyard feast. Or simply order our boiled crawfish and delivered right at your door!

If and when you can get your hands on peeled tails, the options for preparing these are endless. Of course, there is always crawfish etouffee, bisque and stew, but if you like spring rolls, here’s a recipe you might want to try.

CRAWFISH SPRING ROLLS WITH ROOT VEGETABLES

• Makes about 10 servings
• 1 cup finely chopped shredded green cabbage
• 1 carrot, thinly cut into matchstick strips
• ¼ cup matchstick strips celery root
• ½ cup matchstick strips red bell pepper
• ½ cup matchstick strips yellow bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons very thinly sliced scallion
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• ½ teaspoon minced lime zest
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ¼ teaspoon finely chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
• Salt to taste
• White pepper to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon (about 5 to 6 dashes) Tabasco sauce
• 1 pound peeled crawfish tails
• Egg roll or spring roll wrappers
• Egg wash
• Vegetable or peanut oil for deep-frying

Sauté the cabbage, carrots, celery root, bell peppers and scallions in the olive oil for 1 to 2 minutes, or until just wilted. Remove from the heat and add the ginger, lime zest, garlic, cilantro, soy, vinegar, coriander, salt, pepper, Tabasco and crawfish tails. Toss to mix well. Roll about one tablespoon of the mixture in each mixture, sealing the edges with egg wash. (The rolls can be stored in the freezer at this point.) Fry in hot oil until golden brown.

Or you could make a crawfish pie to serve for a Sunday night supper along with a tossed green salad. Easy and so good.

• Makes 6 servings
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 cup chopped canned tomatoes
• 1 pound crawfish tails
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 (9-inch) pie crust

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, bell peppers and celery, and cook, stirring until the vegetables are soft and golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the salt, cayenne and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes. Add the crawfish tails and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add to the pan. Stir for about two to three minutes, or until the mixture thickens. Add the green onions and parsley and stir to mix. Remove from the heat and cool for about 30 minutes.

Pour the crawfish mixture into the pie crust. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the edges of the pie crust are golden. Cool for several minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.