Crawfish Spaghetti

We had a crawfish boil for my daughter's 21st birthday this past weekend.  Her boyfriend came down from New York so we had to school him on Cajun food and traditions.  He loved the boiled crawfish!  Of course, we bought too much (we always over do) so I peeled the leftover crawfish and made a delicious pasta dish today for lunch.  He loved this dish, too.  I like this kid, he knows good food.

I have been making this simple recipe since I was a teenager.  I would use the left overs every time we had a crawfish boil, which was often.  We lived on the river so all of my Aunts and Uncles and Cousins would come over to our house and we'd hang out and boil crawfish.  Some of my best memories are of those boils.  Many members of my family have passed on, but I will always have those memories to remind me of my childhood.  Isn't it wonderful how food can create such lasting memories.

CRAWFISH SPAGHETTI

1/2 lb crawfish tails
1/2 an onion, diced
1/2 a bell pepper, diced
2 green onions, sliced (plus more for garnish)
1 TBS oil
2 TBS butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
Cajun Seasoning (or salt and pepper)
1/2 lb. spaghetti
2 TBS reserved pasta water

Boil a big pot of water to cook the spaghetti.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil and butter.

Add the onion, bell pepper and green onions.  Season with Cajun Seasoning.

Cook until limp, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add crawfish and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add broth and simmer about 10 minutes.

When your spaghetti is cooked, reserve some of the water you boiled it in.  Add 2 TBS of this reserved pasta water to the crawfish mixture and stir (this helps the sauce cling to the pasta).

Stir the drained spaghetti into the crawfish mixture.  You can do this in the skillet or, if it's easier, dump the pasta and the sauce mixture into a large bowl and toss well.  Garnish with extra sliced green onions.

This pasta dish is simple, but delicious.  You could easily swap out the crawfish for shrimp if you'd rather.  This would be a great weeknight dinner because it's so quick to make.  It has a great buttery, spicy flavor.  Ca cest bon!