Crawfish Bisque

This crawfish bisque is an amalgamation of a classic bisque and a Cajun bisque.  I adapted a John Besh (classic New Orlean's style) recipe for the bisque with a Chef John Folse (Cajun style) recipe for stuffed heads or boulettes. You can use crawfish leftover from a boil but if you do be careful of adding seasoning!

Bisque:
Prep time: 1 1/2 hours
Serves 8

1/4 cup olive oil

2 lbs whole crawfish or 1 1/2 lb tail meat and some shells

3  tablespoons flour

• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1/3 cup raw white rice, finely ground in a food processor
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/3 cup brandy
• 4  cups Crawfish stock
• 4 cups heavy fat free half and half
• a dashWorcestershire
• a dash Tabasco
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper

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1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over high heat. Crush the whole crawfish and add them to the pot. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, for 15 minutes.

2. Stir the flour into the pot, mixing it into the oil and crawfish. Then add the onions, garlic, and celery. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook, stirring often, for 15 minutes.

3. Add the ground rice, thyme, bay leaf, pepper flakes, and tomato paste, stirring to mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add the brandy and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 more minutes.

4. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir in the Stock and cream. Bring the bisque to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 25 minutes.

5. Remove the pot from the heat. Purée the bisque in a blender, then strain through a fine sieve if needed. Season with Worcestershire, Tabasco, salt, and pepper.

Stuffed Heads or Boulettes - John Folse

1/2 pound crawfish tails, cleaned

20  cleaned crawfish heads

1/2 cups minced onions

1/2 cup minced celery

1/4cup minced bell peppers

1 tbsps minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 egg beaten

2/3 cups Italian bread crumbs

salt and black pepper to taste

Clean heads

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a food processor, grind crawfish tails, onions, celery, bell peppers, garlic and parsley.

• Transfer ingredients to a mixing bowl then blend in egg.
• Add bread crumbs, a little at a time, using just enough to hold mixture together. Season with salt and pepper.
• Stuff equal amounts into crawfish heads.
• Bake on a cookie sheet 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and set aside.NOTE: If heads are not available, you can simply roll the stuffing into small meatballs or boulettes and bake them on a cookie sheet.