Photo by Frank McMains
1 lb crawfish tail
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp fresh, chopped tarragon (I like the Mexican variety because it grows here) If you have some extra sprigs, hold them back for garnish.
1 large onion, medium dice
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp butter
1 cup white wine (whatever you have around that isn’t too sweet)
¼ cup Manzanilla sherry
2 tbsp salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ lb white mushroom, thinly sliced
cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup + 1 tbsp unbleached flour
½ cup finely grated (microplaned) parmesan cheese
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb dried linguine
Add the butter to a medium sauce pan over low heat to melt it. Raise the heat and add the diced onions and sauté them until they just begin to color. Add the minced garlic and continue to sauté and turn the mixture. Once the garlic is fragrant (about 2 minutes) add the mushrooms and continue to sauté, moving things around in the pan so nothing burns on the bottom. Once the mushrooms have become slightly soft (about 4 minutes), add the white wine and sherry and allow the mixture to reduce in liquid volume by about half. Add half the salt, the pepper, dried thyme and fresh tarragon.
Fill another large pot with water and add the other tablespoon of salt and begin to bring it to boiling. In a third pan heat the oil over a low-medium heat that stir in the ¼ cup of flour. You may need to add the extra tablespoon to achieve the correct consistency for a blonde roux. Stirring constantly over medium-high heat allow the flour to cook in the oil, creating a blonde roux (this should take less than 10 minutes). Pour the roux into an oven safe piece of Pyrex and set aside. By now the mushrooms should have reduced satisfactorily. Add the crawfish tails and the fat they are packed in to the onion and mushroom mixture and stir to combine. Lower the heat to a very low simmer and add in the cream.
Allow the combination of mushrooms, onions, herbs, crawfish tail and cream to cook at low heat and reduce somewhat (about 12 minutes) then add the grated cheese, withhold some if you wish to use it for garnish. Add about three teaspoons of your withheld blonde roux and raise the temperature somewhat. The roux should quickly thicken the dish. Place on the lowest heat possible while you bring your pot containing the water and salt to a boil. Cook your linguine according to the instructions being mindful not to overcook the stuff. Once the linguine is done, drain it and rinse with hot water to remove some of the excess starch from the outside of the noodles and toss them in the colander where you drained them. Return the linguine to the large pot then add the mushroom and crawfish mixture. Toss all the ingredients together until the linguine is thoroughly coated (a toothed, pasta spoon is very helpful for doing this and handling noodles in general). Serve in pasta bowls being careful to distribute some of the larger ingredients like the mushrooms and crawfish evenly as they will tend to end up at the sides of the pot when you toss the pasta. Garnish with any remaining whole sprigs of tarragon or just serve with a nice, sturdy and delicious white wine.
