Published April 2012

From Tastes, Tails, and Tales with the High Priestess of the Bayou by Janice Boo Macomber

• Roux, recipe follows
• Holy Trinity, recipe follows
• Resurrection, recipe follows
• 1 small can tomato sauce
• Trifecta, recipe follows
• 1 quart water
• 2 1/2 pounds Louisiana crawfish tails, peeled
• Amen, recipe follows

For Stew: First, you make a roux. Add the Holy Trinity, onions first. Stir well, then add the Resurrection and tomato sauce. Simmer 15 minutes. Add the Trifecta, 1 quart of water, cook for about an hour. Add the peeled crawfish tails. Cook for 15 minutes. Add the Amen. Turn off fire.

Loaf:

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 6 garlic toes, finely chopped
• 1 cup virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound Louisiana crawfish tails, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
• Amen, recipe follows

In a separate pot, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add 1/2 pound of the finely chopped crawfish tails. Saute for 5 minutes. Add the Amen. Turn off fire. Add breadcrumbs. Cool. In a baking dish, pat crawfish/breadcrumb loaf flat (about 2 inches thick). Pour enough crawfish stew to cover crawfish loaf, being generous with the liquid. Cover. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Heat crawfish stew. Serve over rice with Loaf on side. (This loaf is the same used to stuff crawfish heads for bisque.)

The Roux

When finished, the roux should be the color of the bayou after a heavy rain.

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup flour

Make the basic roux using 3/4 cup vegetable oil to 1 cup flour. A black cast iron pot makes the best roux. On a medium heat, add oil first, then flour. Stir constantly with a flat wooden spoon. In about 10 minutes, the mixture will start to turn a darker color. The ideal color is a very dark brown. When nearing that color, about 30 minutes, lower the fire. The last thing you want to do is burn the roux! When the color is almost right, add onions first. The onions not only allow the roux to cool, but the sugar from the onions keeps the color right. After a few minutes, add the other vegetables. Stir often and cook for another 15 minutes or so.

Holy Trinity

• 3 yellow onions, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped

The Resurrection

• 6 garlic toes, chopped

The Trifecta

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

The Amen

• 1/2 cup green onion tops, chopped
• 1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped