Date: Sun, 3 Mar 1996 17:15:31 -0500 From: DTNUKE@aol.com This is my first time posting, so here goes. Philip asked for a crawfish recipe, and I just happen to have The New Orleans Cookbook by Rima and Richard Collin. In it I found a recipe for Crawfish Bisque you may want to try. Here goes: Crawfish Bisque is considered to be the highest test of a great Louisiana cook. crawfish bisque is a thick soup containing prureed cooked crawfish, firm crawfish meat, chopped vegetables, and a great deal of pungent cayenne pepper. In a large 5 to 6 quart heavy pot or kettle, melt the lard over low heat. Gradually add the flour, stirring constntly, and cook over low heat until medium brown roux (the color of rich peanut butter) is formed. In a skillet or saute pan, melt the butter and in it slowly brown the copped onion and white parts of the shallots. (It is possible to make the roux and saute the onions at the same time on adjoining burners. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to slowly brown the onions and shallots and about 30 minutes to make the roux. The roux will not be left unattended; you simply stop stirring it for a minute from time to time, except during the crucial last 10 minutes. Keep a second spoon handy to stir the sauteing vegetables.) When the onion and shallot bottoms are browned, turn off the heat and let them sit in the skillet. As soon as the roux reaches the desired color, add the contents of the skillet to it, stirring rapidly, then add the shallot tops, parsley, garlic, and all the seasonings; mix very thoroughly. Add the 1/2 cup chopped crawfish meat and the crawfish fat and mix. Keeping the heat low, very gradually add the water, stirring constantly to kepp the mixture smooth. Raise the heat to high and bring the bisque to aboil, then lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. after 15 minutes of simmering, add the whole crawfish tails. Five minutes before serving, add the 1 lb of crawfish tails. Serve in gumbo bowls or deep soup bowls over boiled rice. Note: Any leftover bisque can be refrigerated and served within a day or two. Reheat it slowly over low heat, stirring frequently. Do not let it come to a boil; it is only necessary to get it hot - boiling will tend to overcook the crawfish tails. CHILE-HEADS DIGEST V2 #258 From the Chile-Heads recipe list. Downloaded from Glens MM Recipe Archive, G Internet.