Crawfish Monica

A close up image of creamy crawfish pasta and a white wine, cream, & butter sauce.

4.94 from 15 votes

Crawfish Monica is a New Orleans pasta dish that is loaded with crawfish that are smothered in a buttery wine and cream sauce. The sauce has a kick from Cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper that’s balanced out with fresh green onions and parsley. It’s so good.

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Servings:

Calories: 453kcal

Author: Kari

Equipment

1 large skillet
1 a large pot

Ingredients

1 pound rotini pasta
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup yellow onion diced
2 tablespoons garlic minced
2 tablespoons cajun seasoning
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ cup dry white wine
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 pound crawfish tails
½ cup green onions chopped
½ cup fresh parsley leaves chopped
½ cup grated parmesan for cooking
½ cup grated parmesan for serving

Instructions

Cook pasta according to the package directions, removing it from the water when it is al dente. Save a big cup of the pasta water - about 1 cup.
In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat, then add the onions. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
6 tablespoons butter, 1 cup yellow onion
To the softened onions, add the minced garlic, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and salt.
2 tablespoons garlic, 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Cook until the garlic is fragrant and the onions are orange from the Cajun seasoning.
Then "deglaze" the pan with the white wine and cook until the onions have absorbed most of the wine and the alcohol has evaporated.
¼ cup dry white wine
Next, add the lemon juice and heavy cream and reduce the heat to medium-low heat. Cook this until the cream reduces a bit.
2 cups heavy cream, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Now add the cooked pasta, green onions, parsley, and crawfish and cook until the crawfish are warmed through.
1 pound crawfish tails, ½ cup green onions, ½ cup fresh parsley leaves, 1 pound rotini pasta
Now add half of the parmesan cheese and stir until it is melted.
½ cup grated parmesan
Now, add the reserved pasta water. Slowly pour in the cooking liquid, until the sauce is luscious and creamy. Start with half a cup, you might need a whole cup - you might not - but you can't take it out, so add it a little at a time.
Stir until the water combines with the sauce, then turn off the heat.
Toss the pasta in the sauce to fully coat it a few more times, then serve topped with the remaining parmesan and more fresh herbs if desired.
½ cup grated parmesan

Notes

Recipe Tips

This is a great recipe for using up leftover crawfish from a crawfish boil. Don't rinse the crawfish tails after they are peeled - keep the fat and flavor on them.
Add extra heavy cream when reheating Crawfish Monica. It will rejuvenate the sauce and keep the pasta from drying out.
If you don't have a lot of crawfish, add shrimp or diced tasso to the pasta - yum!

Nutrition