Perhaps one of the quintessential dishes served in the Big Easy is Etouffee. It can be made with either shrimp or crawfish, and there are as many variations of this dish as there are cooks that prepare it. Here is my favorite variation:

• ½ cup cooking oil
• 2 cups finely chopped white onion
• 1 large bell pepper, medium diced
• 1 stalk celery, medium diced
• 2 cups whole tomatoes, mashed
• 2 cups tomato juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons roux
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• ½ cup chopped garlic leaf, or green onion tops
• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• 1/4 tablespoon of red pepper
• 1/4 tablespoon of salt, or to taste
• 1/4 tablespoon of pepper, or to taste
• 1 pound of cleaned and de-veined crawfish

Pour oil into a heavy skillet and saute onions, bell pepper, and celery until limp. Do not overcook. Add tomatoes, tomato juice, lemon juice, roux and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium hat and add parsley, garlic leaf, garlic cloves, red pepper, and salt and pepper. Cook for about five minutes, then add crawfish and cook for fifteen more minutes. Simmer until ready to serve. This dish serves four over rice.  http://www.ericwilder.com  http://energyissues.blogharbor.com