AphroChic Magazine: Issue No. 11

Food
Crawfish Hand Pies
(makes 8 pies)
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons (55g) unsalted butter
1 medium yellow or white onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
½ green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons (25g) all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping
2 tablespoons tomato paste
¾ cup (180ml) white wine
¾ cup water
1 to 2 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce
1 dried bay leaf
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound crawfish tail meat or shrimp (if using shrimp,
roughly chop)
1 large egg
1 disk of dough for Flaky Pie Crust (recipe next page)
or store-bought pie dough
1. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, and bell
pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic to the
skillet and cook, stirring, until fragrant, an additional 1 minute.
2. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons flour over the ingredients and stir. Add the tomato paste and stir until
it is lightly toasted, about 2 minutes.
3. Pour in the wine and water. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the hot sauce, bay leaf, Creole seasoning, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook until
the mixture starts to thicken. Add the crawfish and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the
crawfish is cooked through and opaque, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard
the bay leaf. Let cool completely before using for the filling.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and whisk the egg in a small bowl.
5. Roll the pie crust on a floured work surface to a rectangle ¼ inch thick. Work quickly because
cold dough is easier to handle and preserves the flaky layers. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut
circles of dough as close to one another as possible. Gather the scraps, reroll, and cut out more
circles. You should have about 16 rounds, which is enough for 8 hand pies.
6. Place 8 rounds of dough on the baking sheet. Mound about 2 tablespoons of étouffée in the
center of each of the rounds. Try to keep the étouffée in the center and leave about ½-inch
border around the edge.
7. Gently brush the whisked egg around the edge of the dough, which will act like glue to hold
the 2 circles of dough together. Place the remaining 8 dough rounds on top, and press the tines
of a fork around the edges to seal.
8. Place the hand pies in the freezer for 15 minutes.
9. Preheat the oven to 350°F and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
10. Brush the pies all over with the remaining egg wash. Use a small, sharp knife to cut an X in
the top of each pie so steam can escape during baking. Transfer the baking sheet with the pies
to the oven and bake until golden all over, about 30 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving warm.
62 aphrochic