When in Louisiana, it's all about Crawfish. Cajuns eat Crawfish morning, noon, and night. My latest recipe serves Crawfish for breakfast. It only takes a handful of these crustaceans to make a Crawfish Omelet.
Hello there, this is a Swamp Chef, and I'm taking over with a recipe from deep in the Spanish Moss-covered bayou. I talked my way into Mom's kitchen to make a breakfast recipe, I guarantee, you are gonna like.
There's nothing to it, really. Make an Omelet your way with your favorite cheese and add a dozen small Crawfish, plus a Trinity of sautéed veggies.
Crawfish are similar to small Bay Shrimp, but milder in flavor, as Crawfish are raised in freshwater instead of saltwater like shrimp. All the meat of a Crawfish is in the tail, and you cook and peel them like you would a shrimp.
Here in Louisiana, Crawfish are bought cooked and peeled in 12 to 16-ounce packages sold in the frozen seafood section of most grocery stores. All you do is add some at the end of cooking the Crawfish Omelet, as they are ready to eat, and need only heating through.
A combination of chopped onion, celery, and bell pepper is called the Trinity in Louisiana. Again, just a handful of sautéed veggies are added to the Crawfish Omelet.
Besides eggs, the last thing to add is some cheese. I would normally add a slice of American cheese, but I had partied heartily the day before and had some leftover fancy cheese. Use any favorite cheese.
As for the egg part, I cook mine the French way. That is, I pour the beaten eggs into a low-heating pan and slowly stir the eggs like I would a scramble.
The trick is to keep the eggs moving until almost done, but still damp. Then add the cheese, sautéed Trinity, and Crawfish. Finally, close up the Crawfish Omelet and cook until it reaches your desired doneness. I like mine slightly moist when done.
You can cook the Crawfish Omelet any way you like, even old-school, well done, diner style. All the extra flavor is in the Trinity plus Crawfish.
I do like Omelets with cheese and seafood. If you don't have access to Crawfish, it's okay to substitute with small cooked shrimp.
Cooked Shrimp
Cooked Crawfish
Click on any photo to see larger.
Check out how this Cajun cooks a Crawfish Omelet - straight from the swamp!
Crawfish Omelet - VIDEO Play it here, video runs 5 minutes, 48 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Ingredients
- 3 Eggs - lightly beaten. Okay to make a 2-egg omelet.
- 1/4 cup of Trinity - chopped onion, bell pepper, and celery.
- Crawfish - cooked and peeled, about 12 per Omelet. Crawfish are quite small. Okay to substitute with small, cooked, and peeled shrimp.
- Soft or Semi-Soft Cheese - about 3 tablespoons. I happened to have leftover Herb & Garlic Goat Cheese from a party. Okay to use a slice of American Cheese, or any soft or semi-soft favorite, like Mozzarella, Cheddar, Swiss, Provolone, Ricotta, and Monterey Jack.
- 2 Teaspoons of Oil - a tablespoon each to saute the Trinity veggies and a tablespoon to cook the omelet.
- Salt and Pepper - to taste. Cheese is salty enough for me, so I leave salt out.
Directions
Chop the Trinity veggies of onion, bell pepper, and celery. Add a tablespoon of oil to a medium-sized pan over medium heating pan.
Saute veggie until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add cooked and peeled Crawfish to the veggies and mix. Saute Crawfish for a minute, just to heat through.
Remove veggies and Crawfish while you make the Omelet.
I like to make my Omelet with 2 to 3 eggs. I whisk them in a bowl to blend the eggs.
Add a tablespoon of oil to a low/medium-heated pan. I like my Omelet soft, so I cook it over a lower heat than normal so I can control the dampness of my Omelet. This is a French-style Omelet. It's okay to cook the Omelet your favorite way, well done or slightly damp.
Add the mixed raw eggs and slowly stir the eggs in the pan. When they are cooked, but still soft and moist, I spread out the eggs to cover most of the Omelet pan. Fill in any holes of the Omelet with soft egg.
Add salt and pepper if you like. I find cheese is salty enough to my taste, so I leave it out.
Now is the time to bring it all together. Add the cheese first, so it will melt. I add the cheese to half of the Omelet. Spread it out a bit.
I add the cheese first, so it will melt. Next, add the sautéed Trinity vegetables and Crawfish over the cheese.
I like to slide a spatula under the cooking Omelet as it gets close to finishing to loosen it from the pan. When the Omelet reaches doneness, it's okay if the eggs are slightly damp. I gently fold the Omelet in half to cover the cheese and veggies.
I let the folded Omelet cook another 30 seconds or so. You can slice into the Omelet to check for desired doneness.
If you want to gild the lily, then slather a little butter on the Omelet.
