Menu Musings of a Modern American Mom: Crawfish Etouffee over Fried Green Tomatoes

Well despite its appearance, this one was really fast and easy!

Ingredients:

green tomatoes
Whistle Stop brand Fried Green Tomato Batter Mix
kosher salt for sweating them
Tony Chachere's Creole Etouffee Mix
1 pound of crawfish tails
a diced tomato
a handful of parsley
green onions from garnish

If you prefer to make the Crawfish Etouffee from scratch, visit the post for Crawfish Pie.

 FYI * The word Etouffee comes from the French étouffer, which means to smother.

Step-by-Step:

Okay so I'm going to admit right up front - I sort of cheated my way through this one. Sometimes I like making everything from scratch, other times its awesome to be able to rely on convenience foods to get things moving along! That makes this recipe super fast and super easy!

"Green" tomatoes... actually I chose the ones that were sort of "blush" - not turning red yet, but a tad past green. Still very firm.

Slice tomatoes about 1/4" thick, sprinkle with salt and drain on paper towels. This is to draw some of the water out of them. We don't want them soggy!

Cover the salted tomatoes with another double layer of paper towels for about 20-30 minutes or so. We want to pull out a lot of the liquid from the tomatoes.

For my etouffee, please don't be disappointed, but I used Tony Chachere's Creole Etouffee Mix and a pound of frozen crawfish tails. I have another recipe that takes about 3 hours babysitting an etouffee, but this mix only takes about 10-15 minutes!

I rinsed my pound of crawfish tails about a dozen times in clear water. I like to remove every bit of fat that I can.

To make that etouffee mix "mine," I added a diced tomato, some parsley, additional seasoning, and sliced green onions from my herb garden.

It thickens nicely in about 10 minutes on a simmer.

I HATE frying things in my house, because it smells like "fried stuff" for about 3 days. That said, I bit the bullet and made an exception today. I used about 1 1/2" canola oil in my black iron skillet (a MUST have for any Southern cook!). The oil needs to be between 325-350 degrees. I like to use a candy thermometer.

Everything is ready to go! My batter comes from a mix, too! (Are ya'll disappointed?) I used the Whistle Stop brand Fried Green Tomato Batter Mix. It's foolproof!

Dip the tomato slices in the batter and drop in the hot oil immediately. Fry until golden brown on each side. That takes maybe a minute or two.

Drain the fried tomatoes on papertowels and sprinkly immediately with salt (or whatever seasoning you prefer).

Creamy, crunchy, spicy, salty, and Yummy!!!

Written Method:

Choose "Green" or slightly blushing tomatoes that are still very firm. Slice tomatoes about 1/4" thick, sprinkle with salt and drain on paper towels. Cover the salted tomatoes with another double layer of paper towels for about 20-30 minutes or so. For my etouffee, please don't be disappointed, but I used Tony Chachere's Creole Etouffee Mix and a pound of frozen crawfish tails. I have another recipe that takes about 3 hours babysitting an etouffee, but this mix only takes about 10-15 minutes! I rinsed my pound of crawfish tails about a dozen times in clear water. I like to remove every bit of fat that I can. To make that etouffee mix "mine," I added a diced tomato, some parsley, additional seasoning, and sliced green onions from my herb garden. It thickens nicely in about 10 minutes on a simmer. I used about 1 1/2" canola oil in my black iron skillet (a MUST have for any Southern cook!). The oil needs to be between 325-350 degrees. I like to use a candy thermometer. My batter comes from a mix, too! (Are ya'll disappointed?) I used the Whistle Stop brand Fried Green Tomato Batter Mix. It's foolproof! Dip the tomato slices in the batter and drop in the hot oil immediately. Fry until golden brown on each side. That takes maybe a minute or two. Drain the fried tomatoes on papertowels and sprinkly immediately with salt (or whatever seasoning you prefer). Serve the hot etouffee over the fried green tomatoes and garnish with thinly sliced green onions.

Looking for more great Seafood recipes, or recipes from the South?
Please visit my Recipe Index for more recipes like this that you can make with/for your family! Here are a few to whet your appetite: