Crawfish Pie

Name: Crawfish Pie
Total time: PT0D0H0M
Yield: serves 6-8
Ingredients: 3 cups flour; 14 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled; 2 tsp. kosher salt; 1 ⁄ 2 cup ice cold water; 4 tbsp. unsalted butter; 1 medium green bell pepper, minced; 1 medium yellow onion, minced; 1 stalk celery, minced; 1 ⁄ 2 tsp. cayenne; 1 (16-oz.) can whole peeled canned tomatoes, crushed by hand; 1 lb. cooked, peeled crawfish tails; 2 tbsp. cornstarch, dissolved in ½ cup water; 1 tbsp. minced parsley; 2 scallions, minced; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp. water

Serves
serves 6-8

HELEN ROSNER

Firm and sweet, crawfish meat goes well just about anywhere you'd use lobster; here, it's combined with peppers, celery, tomatoes, and cayenne pepper and baked in a flaky pastry dough for a spicy twist on pot pie. This recipe first appeared in the tablet edition of our April 2014 issue with Felicia Campbell's story Born on the Bayou.

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST:

3 cups flour
14 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
2 tsp. kosher salt
¹⁄₂ cup ice cold water

FOR THE FILLING:

4 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 medium green bell pepper, minced
1 medium yellow onion, minced
1 stalk celery, minced
¹⁄₂ tsp. cayenne
1 (16-oz.) can whole peeled canned tomatoes, crushed by hand
1 lb. cooked, peeled crawfish tails
2 tbsp. cornstarch, dissolved in ½ cup water
1 tbsp. minced parsley
2 scallions, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp. water

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Instructions

Step 1

Make the crust: Pulse flour, butter, and salt in a food processor into pea-size crumbles. Add water; pulse until dough forms. Divide dough in half and flatten into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap; chill 1 hour.

Step 2

Make the filling: Melt butter in a 12” skillet over medium heat; cook pepper, onion, and celery until golden, 10–12 minutes. Add cayenne and tomatoes; cook 5 minutes. Add crawfish and cornstarch mixture; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley, scallions, salt, and pepper; set aside.

Step 3

Assemble and bake the pie: Heat oven to 450°. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 disk of dough into a 12” round. Fit into a 9” pie plate. Trim edges, leaving 1” dough overhanging edge of plate; fill with crawfish mixture. Roll remaining disk of dough into a 12” round and place over top of pie. Pinch top and bottom edges together and fold under; crimp edges. Brush with egg mixture; cut three 1”-long slits in top of pie. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool slightly before serving.

Make the crust: Pulse flour, butter, and salt in a food processor into pea-size crumbles. Add water; pulse until dough forms. Divide dough in half and flatten into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap; chill 1 hour.
Make the filling: Melt butter in a 12” skillet over medium heat; cook pepper, onion, and celery until golden, 10–12 minutes. Add cayenne and tomatoes; cook 5 minutes. Add crawfish and cornstarch mixture; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley, scallions, salt, and pepper; set aside.
Assemble and bake the pie: Heat oven to 450°. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 disk of dough into a 12” round. Fit into a 9” pie plate. Trim edges, leaving 1” dough overhanging edge of plate; fill with crawfish mixture. Roll remaining disk of dough into a 12” round and place over top of pie. Pinch top and bottom edges together and fold under; crimp edges. Brush with egg mixture; cut three 1”-long slits in top of pie. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool slightly before serving.