Mini Crawfish Pies - Paula Deen

Denise!'s Note:

Typically not a fan of Paula's, but this recipe is outstanding. Note - I use 3 cups chicken stock and you can use shrimp if you can't find crawfish, but definitely use crawfish if you have it available. This is a special treat for us. I have not made the crust, I just use refrigerated crust and bake in a pie pan. You will need to bake until the crust is brown if using a large pie pan.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 8 tablespoons butter , cubed and softened
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese , softened
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons butter , sliced
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 large yellow onion , diced
• 4 stalks celery , diced
• 2 small carrots , diced
• 1 bunch scallion , diced
• 1 green pepper , diced
• 2 shallots , diced
• 1 lb frozen crawfish tail , thawed
• 3 tablespoons cajun seasoning
• kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 3 -4 cups chicken stock

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. For the crust: In a large bowl, blend together the butter and cream cheese. Stir in flour and chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Separate dough; reserving 1/3 for pie tops, and using 2/3 for pie crust bottoms. To form bottom portions of dough, create dough balls approximately 1-inch in diameter and place into bottom of muffin tin cups, flattening to form crust bottoms. Bake crusts only until golden brown, about 20 minutes. *You can use any pie crust and simply follow remaining filling ingredients and make one large pie.
3. For the filling: In a saucepan, add butter and flour, stirring together over heat to create a roux. Cook until mixture is the color of peanut butter. Add all vegetables and saute until soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add crawfish, Cajun seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Saute mixture for 2 to 3 minutes. Add chicken stock and cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens. Spoon mixture into crusts. Top with circles of unbaked dough cut from the reserved 1/3 of original dough. Make a small slit in the top of the dough to allow steam to escape. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve while warm.

Reviews

[Chuckolate]

Like Mardi Gras in your mouth! I'm a NOLA native, so I know cajun food. I am also leery of Paula Deen recipes, but this one is fantastic. Instead of making my own dough, I used puff pastry shells and filled them with this filling. Also, you can omit the shallot. They really get lost amongst the rest of the ingredients and shallots are expensive. These were a HUGE hit. Adding this to my regular rotation. Laissez les bon temps rouler!