When the crawfish are in season.
When you are living in Louisiana, you know when its crawfish season. Well it is crawfish season! Crawfish boils are something that most look forward to during this time of year. If there are any crawfish leftover, then you save them for something else. In this case, homemade crawfish fettuccine.
From crawfish boil to a crawfish pasta.
If you have never tried crawfish, then you are missing out. No, really. I am a true southern girl at heart. I am here for all the greens and seafood! I have been choosing (yep, choosing) to eat shrimp for my special birthday dinner for as long as I can remember. I love me some seafood. Most people refer to crawfish as mud bugs, but they are actually freshwater crustaceans. Hint why I am all about them: similar to shrimp!
I hate to waste good leftovers. This is where this homemade crawfish fettuccine comes into play. If you are unable to get your hands on fresh crawfish, that is quite alright! You can substitute crawfish tails from the grocery store. Just make sure to wash them off before using them because they will have a very strong ‘fishy’ taste if not.
The same goes for the pasta. If you are unable to make your own fettuccine noodles, you can substitute with packaged noodles. It is not a problem at all! I have been wanting to make my own pasta at home for a while now. Finally gave it a go with this recipe. Y’all! There is nothing like fresh homemade pasta!
Homemade pasta is quite simple.
I once thought that making pasta at home had to be difficult. I was mentally putting it with the known difficulty of making those tedious macarons. Boy was I wrong! With the right tools, you can have fresh pasta in less than an hour that is prepped and on the dinner table. Majority of the work was put into kneading the pasta dough. Lots of kneading, but nothing that will put you over the edge. Shoot, you may even look at it as a great way to release built up frustration 😉
Alfredo sauce is always better homemade.
This is not a lie. After purchasing store bought alfredo sauce a few years ago, I will never buy it again. I have a go-to alfredo sauce aka white cheesy bechamel sauce recipe that I will use every single time. You basically make a gravy from a roux. You give it more of sauce consistency by adding milk. I also add in some parmesan cheese and a little mozzarella.
As for the seasoning, I like it spicy. I normally use a little blackening seasoning to give it a little kick and some coloring. The blackening seasoning goes well with chicken and seafood!
Homemade Crawfish Fettuccine
Looking for a way to enjoy those leftover crawfish? This homemade crawfish fettuccine is both delicious and easy to put together! See for yourself!
Ingredients
- 2 cups, 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 tsp of minced garlic
- 1 1/2-2 cups of milk
- 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese
- 1 tsp of blackened seasoning
- 1 cup of cooked crawfish tails
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta dough. If you are not making homemade fettuccine noodles, you can skip the next few steps.
- On a clean surface, add the flour in a dome. With your fingers, create a hole in the flour to hold the eggs.
- Slowly add the eggs in the hole. You want the flour to surround the eggs and not allow the eggs to pour out everywhere. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the eggs.
- With a fork, gently break up the eggs and mix in the flour.
- Once the eggs are incorporated into the flour, start working the eggs even more into the dough by folding it and kneading it with the palm of your hand. You will do this for 8-9 minutes.
- Knead the pasta dough into a ball and cut it into 4 equal parts. Wrap up in plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- While the pasta dough is sitting, you can make the alfredo sauce. In a large skillet, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat it on medium high heat.
- Add the minced garlic and stir, making sure to not burn the garlic. Once it is browned, you will add the 2 tablespoons of flour. Continue to stir the flour and olive oil mixture for about 2-3 minutes.
- Now add the milk. First add 1 cup of milk and stir. The roux mixture will clump up. You will have to allow the milk to heat up to mix in the roux. As the milk heats up and the roux starts mixing in to the milk, it will thicken.
- Once the milk thickens, lower the heat to low-medium heat. Add 1/2 cup of milk and the cheese, stir. Add the blackening seasoning and stir.
- Allow the sauce to cook for 4 more minutes. If the sauce becomes too thick, you can add more milk. If you are using store bought crawfish tails, you can add them now to the sauce to allow them to cook. They will only take 3-5 minutes.
- Make the fettuccine noodles: With the palm of your hand, you are going to flatten one dough ball out (keep the others in wrap to prevent them from drying out) into a disc. I used the 1 setting on my Kitchen Aid pasta roller first to begin rolling out my pasta dough. After you roll it through once, take the each end of the rectangular piece and fold them into the middle. Then put it back through the roller 2 more times. This will help give a more straight edge. Switch the setting to 2 and roll it through 3 times, then switch it to 3 and roll it 3 times. Finally switch the setting to 4 and roll it through 3 times. Place the pasta sheet on a lightly floured cookie sheet, covering each side with flour until ready to cut the noodles; repeat this with the next dough balls
- Once you have all 4 pasta sheets, it is time to cut the noodles! I used the Kitchen Aid Fettuccine noodle attachment. Just run the pasta sheets through it, and it will cut fettuccine noodles for you!
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add your noodles. For fresh noodles, you will only need to cook for 3 minutes.
- Remove cooked noodles from heat and drain.
- Immediately add to the alfredo sauce and gently stir to cover all the noodles in the sauce.
- Lastily, add the leftover crawfish tails! You will just heat up the pasta long enough to warm up the tails.
- Enjoy!
A homemade crawfish fettuccine recipe that you don’t want to miss.
If you can find crawfish tails in your grocery store, you can enjoy this homemade crawfish fettuccine recipe. Of course it is even better if it comes after a good ol’ crawfish boil. Have you ever tried to make your own pasta? Let me know if so!
Hugs!
