Baked Crawfish Pasta with Mushroom, Tarragon and Three Cheeses

From The Good Feast blog (see photos)

½ lb. Fontina Cheese, grated
½ lb.  Mozzarella Cheese, grated
½ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 lb.  Farfalle (bow-tie) Pasta, cooked until slightly underdone
1 and ½ cups  2% Milk
½ cup  Heavy Cream
¼ cup  All-Purpose Flour
½ stick  Un-salted Butter
1 tbsp. Fresh Tarragon, minced finely
1  Large, Vidalia Onion, chopped
3  Garlic Cloves, finely minced
¼ cup  Amontillado Sherry
1 lb.  White Mushrooms, sliced thick
½ cup  Riesling or other fruity White Wine
2 tsp.  Dried Thyme
2 tsp.  Salt
1 tsp.  Freshly Ground Black Pepper
2 tbsp.  Apple Cider Vinegar
1 pinch  Cayenne Pepper
½ + ½ tbsp.  Canola Oil
1 lb.  Crawfish Tails  

Preheat your oven to 375F. Grease a large, ovenproof casserole dish with ½ tablespoon of canola oil.

Cook the pasta and rinse to cool and stop the cooking, as well as prevent the noodles from sticking together, and set aside.

In a saucier or other sloping-sided pan, melt the butter over low-medium heat. Add the flour and whisk or stir to make a blond roux. This should take about 7 minutes or until the roux begins to smell of freshly baked bread. Set aside.

In a sauté pan heat the remaining ½ tablespoon of canola oil. Sauté the onions until translucent over medium-high heat (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic, thyme, salt, pepper and tarragon, and continue to cook for about another 5 minutes. Reduce heat if the garlic begins to color. Add the sherry, vinegar and white wine, and reduce the liquid at a low boil for about 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and carefully toss all of the ingredients together and allow to cook down for about 5 minutes. Set aside and reheat the roux, whisking in the milk and cream. Bring to temperature until the béchamel sauce thickens (yep, you just made a béchamel). Add in the fontina cheese and ½ the mozzarella cheese, whisk together and stir until combined and smooth. Add the mushroom, onion and herb mixture and stir to combine. Toss the pasta with the resulting creamy concoction then pour into the greased baking dish. Cover the resulting filled casserole dish with the remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown. Make sure it doesn’t burn. You might want to have some bread around to mop up the cream sauce.

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