Cajun Seafood Casserole

CRAWFISH CASSEROLE WITH A BUTTER CROUTON LEMON CRUMB

It’s been a while since I posted a Cajun recipe here, and I had some crawfish in the freezer. I knew I had to make a crawfish casserole.

A lot of people are intimidated by crawfish. They aren’t the most appetizing things to look at. But growing up in Louisiana, it’s a way of life. And this recipe has two pounds of it.

My recipe is an offshoot of my grandmothers. There are tons of variations of many Cajun recipes out there, but this one is mine.

Most old Cajun recipes are pretty basic, and all if not most have the trinity involved. Of course this one also has it. I add a few modern twists, like lemon and buttered croutons that are chopped up.

Ingredients

• 1 cup yellow onions, diced

• 1 cup celery, diced

• 1/2 cup green onions, diced

• 1 cup red bell pepper, diced

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 small jar of chopped pimentos

• 1 stick unsalted butter

• 1 can cream of mushroom

• 1 can cream of chicken

• 1/2 cup seafood stock

• 2 lbs cooked crawfish tail meat

• 2 cups cooked rice

• 2 cups croutons

• juice of 1 lemon

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter for croutons

• 1 cup parsley, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Sauté all vegetables except parsley and the pimentos in the butter until soft.

Stir in the cooked crawfish tail meat, both cream soups and the seafood stock.

Fold in the cooked rice and 3/4 cup of the parsley.

In a food processor, blend croutons, melted butter and lemon juice.

In a 9” by 9” baking tray, spray with vegetable spray, then pour in casserole.

Spread blended crouton crumbs on top, bake for 25 minutes.

With 10 minutes left, you can spread french fried onions on the top if you want more crunch.

Enjoy!