Crawfish Vichyssoise With Lemon-Poached Leeks And French Bread Croutons

Description

Source: FROM Emeril's KITCHENS - EMERIL LAGASSE

If you can’t get live crawfish at your local market, substitute whole shrimp in their shells and boil them until just pink, about 3 minutes. Keep in mind that you’ll use the stock to make the Vichyssoise as well as the Lemon-Poached Leeks. These leeks make a great accompaniment to fish and other seafood dishes. To make the dish without crawfish stock, just substitute Shrimp Stock or Rich Chicken Stock, or follow the directions in the recipe to make your own here.

Ingredients

• 1 pound live crawfish (or ½ pound cooked and peeled crawfish tails plus 1 pound shrimp shells) or 1 pound shrimp in the shells
• 3 quarts water
• 2 tablespoons salt
• ¼ cup Zatarain’s Liquid Crab and Shrimp Boil
• 1 cup coarsely chopped yellow onions
• ¾ cup coarsely chopped celery
• 3 lemons, peel and white pith removed; peel from ½ lemon reserved for the Lemon-Poached Leeks
• 3 bay leaves
• 10 black peppercorns
• 1 pound leeks
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 recipe Lemon-Poached Leeks
• 1 recipe Large Croutons

Directions

1. If using live crawfish, put them in a large container filled with salted water and let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Drain and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear.
3. To make the crawfish stock, combine the water, salt, crab boil, onions, celery, lemons, bay leaves, and peppercorns in a heavy 8-quart stockpot.
4. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the crawfish to the pot, and cook until they turn bright red, 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Using tongs or a strainer, transfer the crawfish to a baking sheet and spread out to cool. (Alternatively, if live crawfish are not available, add the 1 pound shrimp shells to the boiling liquid. Boil for 30 minutes to make a rich shrimp stock. Strain and discard the shells.)
7. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean container.
8. Set aside 4 cups of the stock for the soup, 2 cups for the leeks, and reserve the rest for another use or discard.
9. Meanwhile, trim the leeks, discarding the roots and green tops.
10. Cut the whites crosswise into ½-inch slices and put in a bowl of ice water to soak for 5 minutes.
11. Drain, place in fresh ice water, and soak again for 5 minutes.
12. Drain well.
13. When the crawfish are cool enough to handle, peel them, reserving the tails and discarding the shells.
14. Cover and refrigerate.
15. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or other large heavy pot over medium-high heat.
16. Add the drained leeks and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes.
17. Add 4 cups of the strained stock and the potatoes, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are soft, about 25 minutes.
18. Remove from the heat.
19. Purée the soup with a hand-held immersion blender, or in batches in a food processor or blender, until smooth.
20. Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
21. Scald the cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
22. Remove from the heat and add to the puréed soup, stirring well.
23. Cover and chill thoroughly before serving.
24. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls.
25. Arrange 8 to 12 chilled crawfish tails or shrimp around the edge of each bowl.
26. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of the poached leeks in the center of each bowl, and serve with the croutons.

YIELD: MAKES 6 CUPS; 6 TO 8 SERVINGS