INGREDIENTS:
- 2 pounds live crawfish
- 1 pound cooked crawfish tails
- 20 giant sea scallops
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups onions, diced
- 2 cups carrots, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, mashed
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
- 4 parsley stems
- 1/4 cup brandy
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp. saffron blended in 1/4 cup warm water
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tbsps. Herbsaint
- 1 ounce olive oil
- 1/2 cup carrots, finely diced
- 1/2 cup onions, finely diced
- 1/2 cup celery, finely diced
- 1/2 cup tomatoes, finely diced
- 1/4 cup basil, finely chopped
METHOD:
In a 2 gallon stock pot, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high
heat. Sauté onions, carrots and garlic, stirring constantly
until light brown, about 10 minutes. Add bay leaves, thyme and parsley
and blend into vegetable seasoning. Add live crawfish and cover
until crawfish are slightly steamed, about 2 to 5 minutes. Remove
lid and add brandy and white wine. Be careful, as brandy may flame
as it hits the pot. Bring wine to a low simmer and reduce by 1/2
the volume. Add tomato paste, blending well into liquid. Add 3 quarts
cold water and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce to simmer and cook
stock until nice crawfish flavor is achieved, about 30 minutes.
During this process, it is best to pull the heads from the tails
of the crawfish to heighten the flavor. Add saffron and season to
taste with salt and pepper. Allow stock to continue to simmer until
desired rich flavor is achieved. When stock is done, strain and
remove 2 quarts. Discard flavoring ingredients and return to stock
pot. Return to low simmer and add Herbsaint. Stir well and taste
for proper seasoning.
In a sauté pan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Season scallops lightly with salt and pepper. When olive oil reaches smoke point, sauté 10 scallops until golden brown around the edges, about 2 minutes on each side. Continue until all scallops are cooked. Remove and keep warm.
In same pan add carrots, onions, celery, and tomatoes. Sauté
until wilted, about 3 to 5 minutes. Move seasoning to one side of
pan and add cooked crawfish tails to warm completely. Season lightly
with salt and pepper. When ready to serve, place 1 to 2 tbsps. of
heated vegetable seasoning into bottom of a soup bowl. Add 2 scallops
and an even portion of crawfish tails. Ladle hot crawfish stock
over top of ingredients and garnish with basil. Serve with hot French
bread.
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