Etouffee I find is one of the easiest and quickest dish to create, other than the few minutes you need to whisk the flour to prevent burning, everything else is smooth sailing. Below I broken it up for the basic sauce and from there you can create many variations.
The beginning is basically vegan, what you add from that point will make it either Veggie, seafood or full out Omnivore
Enjoy
Ingredients
The basic Etouffee
1 onion diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
5 tablespoons Earth Balance
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Handful of fresh Italian Parsley, chopped and stems removed
4 to 6 sprigs of fresh thyme, stems removed
4 to 6 tablespoon unbleached flour
4 to 6 cups of homemade stock – you can use either Veggie or Seafood
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground mustard
Note: traditionally Etouffee has an underlining seafood flavor so using chicken, pork or beef stock is just wrong, in my book, I always use seafood stock.
Okay from this point it is Vegan, if using veggie stock, now I have made Vegan etouffee with root veggies and tofu – explore.
2 lbs. shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 lb. Andouille sausage, sliced – Trader Joes has a Tofu, Seafood, Chicken and Pork style, I usually use either the seafood or chicken.
1 cup of diced, seed tomatoes – Optional – I sometimes make etouffee without the tomatoes
Directions
Place a deep large skillet or Dutch oven over medium to high heat and melt the Earth Balance. Next add the sausage and brown until crispy around the edges, remove and set aside.
Now add the Holy Trinity to the skillet (onions, peppers & celery) and sauté until soft. Next whisk in the flour and keep whisking until it turns golden. My Grandmother always made the roux with the holy trinity in the skillet. Once golden, whisk in the dried spices followed by the stock and garlic. I usually add about 4 cups to start and add the balance if the sauce becomes too thick. Once smooth, add in the herbs, tomatoes (if using) and return the sausage to the skillet. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Once the sauce is smooth and thick, remove from heat and add the shrimp, cover and let stand for 10 minutes. A trick my grandmother showed me, you will never over cook the shrimp. Now if you are using very large shrimp, leave on heat for 2 minutes then remove.
Note: I usually use 4 tablespoons of flour to make the roux, but sometimes the ingredients you add water the sauce down, so I remove some of the liquid from the skillet, whisk in the remaining flour, until smooth, then whisk in the mixture and simmer until the sauce thickens.
Enjoy Cooking