Louisiana Crawfish and Sea Scallop Bouillabaisse
2 pounds live crawfish
1 pound cooked crawfish tails
20 giant sea scallops
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups onions, diced
2 cups carrots, diced
6 cloves garlic, mashed
2 whole bay leaves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
4 parsley stems
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon saffron blended in 1/4 cup warm water
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons Herbsaint
1 ounce olive oil
1/2 cup carrots, finely diced
1/2 cup onions, finely diced
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
1/2 cup tomatoes, finely diced
1/4 cup basil, finely chopped
In a 2 gallon stock pot, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium high heat. Saute onions, carrots and garlic stirring constantly until light brown, about 10 minutes. Add bay leaves, thyme and parsley and blend into vegetable seasoning. Add live crawfish and cover until crawfish are slightly steamed, about 2 to 5 minutes. Remove lid and add brandy and white wine. Be careful as brandy may flame as it hits the pot. Bring wine to a low simmer and reduce by 1/2 the volume. Add tomato paste, blending well into liquid. Add 3 quarts cold water and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce to simmer and cook stock until nice crawfish flavor is achieved, about 30 minutes. During this process, it is best to pull the heads from the tails of the crawfish to heighten the flavor. Add saffron and season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow stock to continue to simmer until desired rich flavor is achieved. When stock is done, strain and remove 2 quarts. Discard flavoring ingredients and return to stock pot. Return to low simmer and add Herbsaint. Stir well and taste for proper seasoning. In a saute pan, heat remaining olive oil over medium high heat. Season scallops lightly with salt and pepper. When olive oil reaches smoke point, saute 10 scallops until golden brown around the edges, about 2 minutes on each side. Continue until all scallops are cooked. Remove and keep warm. In same pan add carrots, onions, celery and tomatoes. Saute until wilted, about 3 to 5 minutes. Move seasoning to one side of pan and add cooked crawfish tails to warm completely. Season lightly with salt and pepper. When ready to serve, place 1 to 2 tablespoons of heated vegetable seasoning into bottom of a soup bowl. Add 2 scallops and an even portion of crawfish tails. Ladle hot crawfish stock over top of ingredients and garnish with basil. Serve with hot French bread.
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