Crawfish Bisque

Description
A terrific soup from Texas Tapestry cookbook. Enjoy!



Ingredients

 * 1/2 	 cup  corn oil or   bacon fat
 * 1/3 	cup all-purpose flour
 * 1 	large onion, peeled and chopped
 * 1-2 	clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
 * 1 	stalk celery & leaves, chopped
 * 4 	scallions, white and green parts chopped seperately
 * 1 	quart water
 * 1/4 	cup tomato paste
 * 1 	teaspoon dried thyme
 * 1 	bay leaf
 * 6 	tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
 * 8 	allspice berries
 * 3 	cloves
 * 1 	teaspoon salt
 * 1/4 	teaspoon black pepper
 * 1/4 	teaspoon white pepper
 * 1/4-1/2 	teaspoon cayenne pepper
 * 2 	tablespoons lemon juice
 * 3 	lbs uncooked crayfish tails, with fat if available
 * hot freshly cooked rice

Directions
Heat the oil in a large, heavy pan. Add the flour and cook, stirring, to make medium brown roux (the color of peanut butter). Add the onion, garlic, celery and the white parts of the scallions and cook until softened, stirring occasionally. Gradually stir in the water, then add the tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf, 4 Tbsp of the parsley, allspice berries, cloves, salt, peppers, cayenne to taste and the lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring well. Chop about one-quarter of the crawfish tails and add with the fat, if available. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining whole crawfish tails and simmer, covered for 15 minutes or longer. Stir in the green parts of the scallions and the remaining parsley. Serve hot over rice.
 * NOTE: If available, add 12 or more stuffed crawfish heads (thawed if frozen) 5 minutes before serving.