I’ve never cooked with crawfish before. Those little lobster-looking, freshwater crustaceans are bright red and they don’t look all too welcoming to the newer cook. However, when I saw a bunch of crawfish behind my local fish counter, I decided to brave the unknown and bought half a dozen of them. After prying them a bit apart and keeping just the tails, I would have to tell you that I recommend just buying the pre-shelled crawfish meat. It was a lot of work, not too pleasant, and I got hardly a handful of meat out of them. I wonder how anyone can boil lobsters alive! I just don’t have the stomach to even deal with a precooked whole crawfish. Oh well!

Shrimp and Crawfish Fettuccine ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2014

After getting over the crawfish part of the recipe, the rest of the meal was a breeze. And the final product was a beauty! Each of us split the little bit of crawfish (once again just buy the already-shelled crawfish meat so you get more of it!). The pasta had a nice spicy zest thanks to the Tony’s Creole Seasoning but it wasn’t “hot”. I really liked the creamy sauce and the shrimp stayed juicy and not tough. I would definitely make this again as a delicious weeknight meal, with a Southern flair. Here’s my Shrimp & Crawfish pasta:

+TonyChacheresTV  Shrimp and Crawfish Fettuccine ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2014 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ***Also, I was inspired by the delicious looking Moroccan recipes captured through video by my friend, +A Lady in London. Check out her videos and accompanying recipes as well as read about her amazing trip in Marrakech.*** Moroccan Cooking Videos and Recipes: http://bit.ly/1mC2vTi A Trip to Marrakech: http://www.aladyinlondon.com/2014/03/masterchef-travel-marrakech-tour.html

Shrimp and Crawfish Fettuccine

Serves: 2
Prep time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green onion, diced
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 – 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
• 1 pound crawfish tails
• 1/2 Tbsp. jalapeño, minced
• 1 Tbsp. Velveeta cheese
• 1/4 cu half & half
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 Tbsp. Tony Chacheres Original Creole Seasoning
• Fettuccine
• 1/4 cup Parmesan, optional

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a Dutch oven, sauté onions, celery, bell pepper, and green onions in butter on medium heat until tender.

2. Add flour, parsley, and crawfish and cook for 12 minutes. Add jalapeño, cheese, half and half, and garlic. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir often to prevent sticking. Season with Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning.

3. Meanwhile, during the last 10 minutes of cooking crawfish, begin boiling the pasta so that it will be tender at the same time that the crawfish is cooked. Follow directions on the bag to boil the pasta, but do not add salt. When the pasta is tender, drain, rinse in cold water, and drain again.

4. In a casserole dish, coated with cooking spray, pour some of the pasta across the bottom evenly, then cover with crawfish mixture. Continue alternating pasta and crawfish mixture until all is used up. Optionally, sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve warm.