Crawfish Etouffee

Sweet Harold ran me out of my own kitchen and cooked this one from start to finish all by himself.  It was THE hit of the party.  Good job!

1 stick butter

1/2 cup of chopped celery

1 cup of chopped onion

1/2 cup of chopped bell pepper

1/2 cup of chopped green onion

1/4 cup of chopped parsley

2 cups of water (in all)

1 t. of salt, or more, to taste

1/2 t. cayenne, or more, to taste

1/4 t. black pepepr, or more, to taste

2 pounds of peeled crawfish tails

2 t. of cornstarch

Melt the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat.

Add the celery, onion, bell pepper, green onion and parsley and saute for 4 - 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft, but not brown.

Add 1 3/4 cup of water, salt, cayenne, black pepper and crawfish tails.  Cook, stirring often, for 20 minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 1/4 cup water and add it to the crawfish mixture, stirring for ten minutes or until mixture thickens slightly.

Cook for 5 more minutes over low heat.  Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. 

Serve over steamed rice.

Makes 6 servings.

Thank you Sheila Darjean, St. Landry's parish!