Category Archives: Cajun

And we’re back from Vegas. Our trip was a whirlwind tour (like all trips to Vegas should be), and now I’m back to adding post-Thanksgiving recipes.

I wanted to add something else with a creole flavor to our Thanksgiving dinner since we were having the turducken. The original idea was to twice bake these potatoes, but a trick I learned in one of my classes lead me to turn the original idea into a casserole. It reminds me a bit of potatoes au gratin with a kick. Yeah, it’s definitely a little rich, but it’s worth it.

I bought the crawfish tails online at cajungrocer.com with the Turducken and andouille sausage. You could certainly substitute cooked shrimp, crab, or lobster chopped into small pieces if it’s easier to find. You can also substitute chorizo, linguica, or another smoked sausage for the andouille if you’d like.

Andouille & Crawfish Potato Casserole

6 large red bliss or russet potatoes, sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch ovals
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 tsp. butter
1/2 large onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 lb. smoked andouille sausage, diced small
1 tbsp. cajun seasoning (such as Joe’s Stuff or Tony Chacere’s or, yes, even some Essence of Emeril if you must.)
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1, 14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 lb. crawfish tails, cooked
1 tbsp. flour
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cup 2% milk
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of butter in a large skillet until hot. Add about 1/3 of potato slices and brown on both sides (don’t over crowd the pan — if you don’t have a large enough pan, just brown in more batches.) Move browned potato slices to a cookie sheet. Add more olive oil and butter as needed and continue browning the potatoes in batches until all are browned on both sides.

Once the potatoes are browned, remove or add oil/butter until there’s 1 tablespoon remaining. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Sweat for 2-3 minutes or until onions are soft. Add the garlic. Cook for another minute. Add the chopped andouille and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sausage is gets a bit brown and crispy.

Add the cajun seasoning, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the tomatoes start to lose some moisture. Add the crawfish. Cook for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the pan evenly over the food. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Pour in the chicken broth and milk. Add salt and pepper to taste (definitely taste before adding the salt — different cajun seasonings have different levels of sodium so you might not even need salt.) You could also add about 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper here if you’d like.

Bring to a simmer and cook until thick and bubbly. You’ll know you’re in good shape when the sauce can coat the back of a spoon.*

Grease a 9×13 inch cake pan with nonstick spray or a light coating of oil. Add a layer of the browned potatoes. Add a layer of the crawfish and andouille mixture. Add another layer of potato and another layer of the crawfish and andouille mixture. Repeat one more time. You’ll end up with a final layer of crawfish and andouille.

Cover with foil and place in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165.

It would be best to let this stand for about 15 minutes after it comes out of the oven so it will set up and be easier to scoop out of the pan.

* If your sauce is looking too thin at this point get yourself a slurry of cornstarch (equal parts corn starch and cold water) and add this about a tablespoon at a time, letting the mixture come to a simmer for a minute before adding more of the slurry, until it thickens.