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Crawfish Étouffée

Name: Crawfish Étouffée
Prep time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Cajun/Creole
Ingredients: 1 lb crawfish tails; 1/2 cup butter; 1 large onion, diced; 3 stalks celery, diced; 1 green bell pepper, diced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 1/2 cups shrimp; 1/4 cup heavy cream; 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning; 1/4 tsp cayenne; 4 green onions, sliced; 1/4 cup parsley, chopped; 4 cups cooked white rice

Crawfish Étouffée reads richness 5.0, umami 4.8 and marine & briny 4.4 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Cajun/Creole main, about 55 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 5.6 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 2.1 / 10
Sour & Bright — 1.8 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.4 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.1 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.7 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 5.0 · Umami 4.8 · Marine & Briny 4.4 · Allium 4.1 · Salinity 3.6 · Herbaceous 3.2 · Heat 2.6 · Warm Spice 2.0 · Sweetness 1.8 · Sourness 1.6 · Bitterness 1.2 · Fruity 1.2 · Earthy 1.1 · Floral 0.9 · Citrus 0.8

What's in it (14)

1 lb crawfish tails
1/2 cup butter
1 large onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 cups shrimp
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp cayenne
4 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
4 cups cooked white rice

Time & effort: about 55 min (45 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 176.1 kcal, 7.4 g protein, 5.1 g fat, 25.4 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (3 steps)

Melt butter and sauté the holy trinity until very soft, then add garlic and a small spoonful of tomato paste and cook for another minute.
Pour in the broth, stir in the crawfish tails, season generously with Cajun spice and cayenne, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in a splash of cream, adjust seasoning, and serve over fluffy white rice garnished with green onions and parsley.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Crawfish Bisque — Cajun/Creole
Gambas al Ajillo — Spanish
Crawfish Fettuccine — Cajun/Creole
Rice-Pot Jambalaya — Cajun/Creole
Sopa de Mandioca — Brazilian

Keep reading: what richness, umami, marine & briny mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.