Aurora Catering's
Cajun Crawfish Pot Pie
Yield 8 - 10 dinner servings

OR    1 - 2in Hotel Pan (See Chef's Notes below)

Ingredients
Crawfish Sauce Base (See Recipe or follow below)
3/4 LB BUTTER (Divided)

2 LARGE ONIONS (Diced)
4 STALKS CELERY (Chopped)
1 MEDIUM FRESH RED BELL PEPPER (Diced)
1 TBSP FRESH MINCED GARLIC (See Recipe)
3 WHOLE BAY LEAFS
1 -1/2 CUPS DICED TOMATOES
2 CUPS CRAWFISH STOCK (See Chef's Notes below)
1 TBSP WHOLE THYME LEAFS (Dried)
1 -1/2 TSP DRIED SWEET BASIL
1-1/2 TSP WHITE PEPPER
1-1/2 TSP CAYENNE PEPPER FLAKES

1 PINT HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM

1 -1/2 CUP CHARDONNAY

Roux   (OR SEE Basic Roux Recipe)

BUTTER (Divided, from above)
1/2 CUP WHITE FLOUR

Filling
1 CUP CARROTS (Julienned, 1 inch sticks)

1 CUP RAW NEW RED POTATOES (Peeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes)

1 CUP FRESH GREEN BEANS (Ends trimmed, cut into 1/2 inch sticks)

1 LB PEELED LOUISIANA CRAWFISH TAILS with the FAT

8 OZ CAN OF Le SUEUR BRAND SWEET BABY PEAS or FROZEN FRESH PEAS
1 TBSP FRESH LEMON JUICE
1 BUNCH GREEN ONIONS (Chopped)

LOT FROZEN PIE CRUST DOUGH

LOT CHEF'S CHOICE BAKING PAN (See Chef's Notes)

Equipment

I like to use 6 inch cast iron skillets, but almost any shallow and oven combatable container will do.

Method
Base

In a 10 quart Dutch Oven or large cast iron skillet and over medium high heat, add 2 sticks of butter, the onions and celery. Sauté until the onions are clear and the celery is soft, about 7 minutes, or lightly brown. Next add the remaining base ingredients (not including the cream or wine), simmer until limp, and the base starts to thicken (about 15 mins).  Then, add the cream and wine, continue to simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring often to insure that the base is NOT sticking to the bottom of the cast iron.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized cast iron skillet (about 10 inches) and over medium heat, melt the 1 stick of butter and add the flour. Cook the roux for about 5 - 7 minutes, this is called a light tan or khaki roux.  Some Creoles call this a "brown paper bag roux" Or (See Recipe)   Temper the roux with a Chef's spoon full of base or some stock, add to the base.... simmer for 5 minutes or until completely blended into the base and thickens.  Discard bay leafs.

The above is the same recipe for the Crawfish Base Sauce.  NOTE!! For this recipe you will only need about 2 cups of the base...  Just refrigerate or freeze the remaining.  BUT!!!   REMEMBER, it is difficult to project how much of this you will need.... It all depends on the size and depth of your chosen serving dishes.

To complete the filling use a 4 quart stock pot, fill to about 1/2 way with water and bring to a boil.  Add the carrots, potatoes and peas, then poach the veggies for about 3-5 minutes or to an "al dente" texture.... Still slightly crisp.  Strain the water, (you can reserve this now as a light vegetable stock for other dishes!!)  add the veggies to the base.
 

At this point you can refrigerate the Pot Pie Base or even store it frozen for future use.

When ready to serve....

Preheat oven to 375F, press the pie dough into your chosen greased cast iron skillet or aluminum pie pan. (See Chef's Notes below). Poke the pie dough with a fork, 3-4 times. (this creates vents in the dough)...  Bake the pie dough as per packaged directions or until lightly brown.

Meanwhile, warm the base (if refrigerated), and add the remaining (crawfish, Le Sueur peas, lemon juice and green onions).

Then, add enough filling to come just to the level of the edge.  Cover the pie with another piece of pie dough, crimp the edges with a fork, and poke some holes to create vents to relieve the simmering water vapor when baking.  Bake the pies at 350F until golden brown.    SERVE, one pie person!!

Alternate Method
Louisiana Crawfish have plenty of crawfish fat packed with them. If you choose not to use Louisiana crawfish, I would strongly suggest to wash the meat thoroughly under cold water...you will have to add more crawfish stock to the recipe and simmer longer.   Shrimp Paste or Lobster Base is the second choice for this recipe, simmer longer to thicken.

Plate Presentation
Serve one skillet per person on a folded linen napkin, with a glass of chardonnay!

Chef's Notes: 
First of all,  SOOOO Many Thanks to my daughter Michelle and her boyfriend for doing the actual assembly, baking and photograpy, that you see on this recipe.

If you are catering for a larger group, then I would 3 times this recipe for a 2 inch hotel pan.  NOTE!! The recipe for the above Crawfish Base Sauce should be enough for a 2" Hotel Pan.   Grease the bottom of the pan, then line  the bottom with pie dough, pre bake as above, fill with the recipe, cover with a top layer of pie dough and bake until brown. 

The white and cayenne peppers called for above are considered starting amounts. It is important to "infuse" these flavors into the dish but are probably not the total amount needed, of course the crawfish stock has much to do with these amounts. The chef should taste the final filling and adjust for these seasonings before adding to the skillets.

Fresh thyme and basil maybe substituted for the dried, if so chop fine, and increase the volumes by two or three.  Fresh seasonings are not as concentrated as dried.

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Chef Emile L. Stieffel, Aurora Catering, Inc. email address: ChefEmile@CustomCatering.net
Copyright © 1995 - 2018, Aurora Catering, Inc. All rights reserved.
Revised: February 16, 2018