RECIPE: Make Hugo’s Oyster Bar’s Etouffee Pasta
My husband and I enjoy the New Orleans-inspired dishes at Hugo’s Oyster Bar, from the garlic Parmesan beignets to the crab-stuffed shrimp. What I’d love to make at home is their Etouffee Pasta filled with crawfish and shrimp. Hope they’ll share the recipe. — Jona Kindal, Roswell
“Our Etouffee Pasta has been on the menu for 4 or 5 months now and our customers have really enjoyed it,” said corporate executive chef Tony Manns Jr., who created the recipe along with his team.
Etouffee means “smothered” in French. Similar in ingredients and seasoning to gumbo, an etouffee sauce has a thicker, gravy-like consistency.
This classic Cajun or Creole stew is typically made with shrimp, always includes the “holy trinity” of onion, celery and green pepper, and is typically served over rice. At Hugo’s, they’ve added crawfish and it’s served with linguine and accompanied with a toasted slice of garlic bread.
Hugo’s Oyster Bar’s Etouffee Pasta
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 green bell peppers, one cut in slivers, one diced, divided
- 2 red bell peppers, one cut in slivers, one diced, divided
- 1/2 yellow onion, cut in slivers
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 1/4 cup sliced garlic plus 2 minced garlic cloves, divided
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon blackened seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon pepper, divided
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound crawfish tail meat
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning, plus more for dusting plates if desired
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 pound linguine, cooked according to package directions and drained
- Shaved Parmesan and parsley, for garnish
- Make sauce: In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add slivered green and red bell peppers, yellow onion, celery and 1/4 cup sliced garlic. Saute until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, until flour turns light brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in chicken stock. The mixture will tighten up and then loosen as you continue to stir. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. Add blackened seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or pepper if needed. Keep sauce warm over very low heat.
- In a second Dutch oven or large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add crawfish and cook, stirring constantly, until crawfish is light golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add shrimp and saute until shrimp turns pink, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Add remaining diced green and red bell peppers, red onion and remaining 2 minced garlic cloves. Saute until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add Creole seasoning and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Taste for seasoning and add more Creole seasoning, salt or pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium, add cream and cook until cream reduces by half, about 4 minutes. Add cooked linguine and stir to coat, then stir in sauce. Toss and move to serving platter or six individual rimmed soup plates. Garnish with Parmesan and parsley. If desired, decorate platter or plates with a dusting of Creole seasoning.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 632 calories (percent of calories from fat, 27), 38 grams protein, 78 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams total sugars, 5 grams fiber, 19 grams total fat (10 grams saturated), 224 milligrams cholesterol, 933 milligrams sodium.From the menu of ... Hugo’s Oyster Bar, 10360 Alpharetta St., Roswell. 770-993-5922, hugosoysterbar.com.
Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you’d like to make at home? Tell us and we’ll try to get it. We’ll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can’t answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put “From the menu of” and the name of the restaurant in the subject line.
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