Crawfish Chowder

A fall staple in our house is this Crawfish Chowder. It is SOOO easy and so very good!

Potato, Corn and Crawfish Chowder
Serves 20

1 stick butter (I used yogurt butter)
1 onion, diced
1 T. garlic, chopped
1 T. cumin
2 lbs. crawfish tails
1 C. flour
1 quart chicken stock
1 C. tomato paste
1 quart heavy cream (I used no fat half & half)
2 C. potatoes, diced and blanched
3 C. fresh corn
1 C. green onions, chopped
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Cayenne to taste
¼ C. sherry
The juice of ½ lemon
**add 1 T. or more of Tony’s Seasoning

Melt butter in a heavy bottom soup pot. Sauté the onions and garlic until they are a little bit soft and then add cumin and crawfish tails briefly. Stir in the flour completely and stir constantly for a few minutes(to eliminate the flour-y taste). Then add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly for a few minutes more. Add the stock slowly, stirring continuously. The add the heavy cream (or half in half in my case). Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer. You need to watch carefully while bringing it to a boil because if it boils too fast and rapidly it will curdle. It will still taste great, but it will look grainy and separated. Add the potatoes and corn and cook for 30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and season to taste.

This is a Tim Creehan recipe and it is DELICIOUS!!! And not too bad for you either (as long as you use the no fat half & half). I did 3/4 of the recipe so we could eat on it for a few days. You don't need to do the whole thing unless you are having a houseful....because it makes so much! But it definitely warms the soul. Add a little hot sauce at cooking time and you are good to go. Yum!!