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| What You Need: |
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5 pounds live crawfish
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ rep finely chopped onions
½ cup finely chopped scallions, including 3 inches of the green tops
½ cup finely chopped celery
½ cup finely chopped green pepper
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 cup uncooked white rice, preferably broken rice (see Glossary)
¼ teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne)
2½ teaspoons salt
2 cups water
½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley, preferably the flat-leaf Italian variety
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Soak the live crawfish in cold water for at least 10 minutes, and then wash them thoroughly under cold running water. In a heavy 8- to 10-quart pot, bring about 4 quarts of water to a boil over high heat. Using tongs drop in the crawfish and boil them briskly, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
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2. Drain the crawfish into a colander and, when they are cool enough to handle, shell them one at a time in the following manner: With your hands, break off the ridged tail, snap it in half lengthwise and lift out the meat in one piece. If you like, you can snap off the large claws, break them with a nutcracker and pick out the bits of claw meat.
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3. Some or all of the yellow fat, or "butter," from the body of the crawfish may slide out when you break off the tail. If it does not, scoop the body shell clean with the tip of a finger or your thumb and pick out the fat. Reserve the crawfish meat and fat (there will be about 2 cups). Discard the shells, heads and intestinal matter.
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4. In a heavy 3-quart casserole, heat the oil over moderate heat until a light haze forms above it. Add the onions, scallions, celery, green pepper and garlic and, stirring frequently, cook for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft but not brown.
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5. Stir in the rice and, when the grains are coated with oil, add the reserved crawfish meat and fat, the red pepper and salt. Stirring constantly, pour in the 2 cups of water in a slow, thin stream and bring to a boil over high heat.
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6. Reduce the heat to low, cover the casserole tightly and simmer for 25 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed by the rice and the grains are tender but not too soft.
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7. Add the chopped parsley and mix well, then taste for seasoning. Serve the crawfish jambalaya at once, directly from the casserole or mounded attractively in a large heated bowl.
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