Crawfish Zerpa (Stuffed Shells)

Trinkets's Note:

Are you looking for something different, yet not too difficult to wow your friends at dinner? Well, here it is. Shrimp may be substituted. Crawfish Zerpa was the grand prize winner in the 1986 Times-Picayune Cooking Contest, created by Jacqueline S. Keller. This is a very rich and absolutely FABULOUS dish, crying out to be served at your next dinner party. It's not called for in the recipe but I like to add chopped green onions and fresh parsley just before serving. Serve with a big green salad tossed with a simple herb vinaigrette, and hot French bread and perhaps a nice Beaujolais. Bon Appetit, y'all!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 5 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 lb crawfish tail , peeled
• 2 slices bread
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 ¼ cups half-and-half
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• salt
• cayenne pepper
• 1 (6 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 cup crawfish stock
• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ teaspoon dried basil
• salt
• cayenne
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese
• paprika

Directions:

1. Place tails and bread in food processor.
2. Pulsate until coarsely ground.
3. Set aside.
4. Melt butter and add flour, stirring constantly. Add half and half gradually and let mixture simmer until reduced to 1 cup.
5. Add reserved crawfish mixture and seasonings to half and half.
6. Boil macaroni in salted water until al dente.
7. Stir gently while cooking to keep shells apart. Drain.
8. Cool enough to handle.
9. Stuff each shell with a heaping tablespoon of crawfish mixture, closing shell over filling.
10. To make sauce: Boil cream, stock, and butter in a medium saucepan until reduced by one-half. Add basil and salt and pepper to taste.
11. Place small amount on bottom of casserole dish or individual ramekins coated with nonstick spray.
12. Place stuffed shells in dish, pouring remaining sauce over the top.
13. Sprinkle with Parmesan and paprika.
14. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 5 minutes.
15. *To make crawfish stock: Boil crawfish peelings with a little dry sherry (or water), garlic, onion juice, celery seed and a dab of butter.
16. Strain.
17. May be frozen for future use.