1 lb. crawfish tails, or shrimp
1/4 lb. butter
1 med. onion, chopped
1 sm. bell pepper, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1/4 c. parsley, chopped
1/4 c. onion tops, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Creole or Cajun seasoning to taste

Saute onions, pepper, celery and parsley in butter until soft. Do not brown. At this point you can add one small can of golden mushroom soup to "stretch" to sauce. The soup also thickens the sauce.

Add the crawfish tails with all its "fat". Add seasonings and cover the pot to "smother" the crawfish. a.k.a. "etouffee", until tails are cooked, 8 to 10 minutes.

If no soup is added, a small amount of thickener such as cornstarch, arrowroot or flour mixed in water can be added for thickening the sauce. Thickened sauce is needed for "body: to allow it to adhere to rice, pasta or hard breads. Don't forget to add the finely chopped onion tops when serving each dish.

This recipe is also used for shrimp etouffee and scallops, firm fish also. Use this dish for dipping, turnover filling, pastry shells.

Simple to prepare and great to eat.