Shrimp & Crab Etouffee

Etouffee
This is one of those recipes I received years ago from my Mother. The actual recipe was written by a friend of hers named Mrs. Luciella Gautreaux who shared a family recipe for the church cookbook. This is common practice in Bayou La Batre, Alabama where family, and friends are everything. While most people have never even heard the name of this little town on the Alabama Gulf Coast, it has impacted us all. The Movie Forest Gump was filmed in this town, and before that the Battle of Mobile Bay forever changed American History with the phrase ’”Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” being issued by Admiral David Glasgow Farragut just a couple miles off it’s coast.
In the summer of 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck Bayou La Batre, Alabama hard. I was in the Florida Keys working as the Executive Chef at Hawk’s Cay Resort when that storm entered my life. Newly married and without a care in the world we forged ahead without knowing a couple days later my Grandfather would be lost to the storm. Like so many other things from that town I don’t know if the recipe survived beyond the tattered copy in my hands. I was last there in 2009, and I regret to say it doesn’t seem like much more than just enough to get by survived Katrina so I thought for memories sake I would share the beauty Mrs. Gautreaux introduced to me in 1987 as Shrimp and Crab Etouffee.
Shrimp Etouffee
4 Cups Onion, Chopped
¼ Pound Oleo
1 Pound Shrimp
½ Pound Crab Meat
½ Cup Celery
½ Cup Chopped Green Onion
1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
½ Cup Water
½ Cup Chopped Parsley
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Saute Onions in Oleo until brown; add Shrimp and cook until done. Add Crabmeat, Celery, Green Onions, Cornstarch; Mix well. Season to Taste. Cook 10 Minutes More. Garnish with Parsley. Serve over Rice. Makes 6 Servings.
Mrs. Luciella Gautreaux, Bayou La Batre, Alabama