ORIGINAL CRAWFISH OR SHRIMP MONICA

Original Crawfish or Shrimp Monica image

Unlike Crawfish Etoufee, this rich creamy dish is so simple, with only a handful of ingredients, yet very flavorful. Some recipes get too complicated and the original Crawfish Monica recipe just didn't have all that stuff in it. Try this for yourself and see what I mean. Use ONLY Louisiana Crawfish - Not Chinese. If those aren't...

Provided by Donna Graffagnino

Categories Seafood

Time 40m

Number Of Ingredients 7

Ingredients

1 lb pasta (fettuccine, linguine, rotini, penne, or bowties
1 lb crawfish tails and fat (louisiana - don't use chinese)
1 stick butter (don't use margarine)
1 pt half and half*
1 large bunch green onions and tops, sliced
1-2 Tbsp garlic, minced
creole seasoning and salt to taste

Steps:

1. Cook pasta in salt water according to the directions on the package. Drain, then rinse under cool water to stop the cooking. Drain again, thoroughly.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet and saute onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
3. *If using raw shrimp, add them with the onions and garlic at the beginning.
4. Add the crawfish and half-and-half, sauté until bubbly.
5. Add Creole seasoning - 1 big pinch then taste. Add more as needed but tasting before adding the next pinch until you think it's right. Add salt if needed. If you've boiled your own crawfish add the crawfish fat to the mixture as well.
6. Cook for 5 - 10 minutes over medium heat until the sauce thickens.
7. Add the pasta to the pot and toss well. You may not need to use all of the pasta. (I double the recipe when using the whole pound of pasta.) Let it sit for about 10 minutes over very low heat, stirring often.
8. Serve immediately, with lots of French bread and a nice white wine. Buon Appetito!
9. *COOKS NOTE: Most of the time I use half Heavy Cream and half - Half and Half, or in other words 1 1/3 cups heavy cream and 2/3 cups milk. I generally buy Heavy Cream because it can be cut with milk to make Half and Half. The sauce seems to thicken better than straight Half and Half but using all Heavy Cream is too thick.
10. *Tip: The sauce is excellent over Redfish on da Half Shell or grilled filets - I call it Redfish Monica.
11. *Options: If you don't have crawfish, use bay scallops, shrimp, lump crabmeat (add last and fold in gently).