JT’S CATFISH FILET WITH CRAWFISH AND CRAB CAJUN SAUCE

When JT’s dad was in the hospital in Houston near the end of his life and JT wanted to spend as much time as possible with him, he stayed with Jimmy about 5 or 6 days. Every day he would cross the street and eat this dish he loved it so much. I finally called the restaurant asking what was in the dish explaining the situation to them. They told me the ingredients and I did my best to duplicate it. Originally I would dredge the filets in flour seasoned with the Cajun seasoning, but as time passed I have just begun to season it and pan-fry it without the flour. Experiment with it to see which way you prefer.

5-6 catfish filets, or fish of choice (pick the thinnest ones)
Eric’s Cajun seasoning (recipe in Blog in Seasoning section)
Olive oil, about 2 TB
Butter, about 2 TB
3 cloves garlic, diced
6 green onions, diced
3 TB fresh Italian parsley, diced
4 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 c. heavy cream
½ fresh lemon
½ lb. crawfish tails*
½ lb. lump crab meat

Heavily season both sides of the fish with the Cajun seasoning and set aside. In a heavy skillet melt the olive oil and butter. Add the garlic, onions, parsley and tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, about 5-7 minutes. Add the cream, juice of the lemon and Cajun seasoning. Reduce the heat and simmer until the cream has reduced and is somewhat thickened, about 30-45 minutes. Add the crawfish tails and crabmeat and cook until heated through, about 3-5 minutes.

In a black skillet put equal parts olive oil and butter, (about another 2 TB each). Pan-fry all the filets of fish on medium high, watching carefully to be sure it doesn’t burn. It may be necessary to turn the fish more than once if your filets aren’t extremely thin. Optimally this should only take about 5 minutes to cook the fish – test for doneness by opening the thickest part of the fish.

To serve put a large serving of Cajun rice (recipe in Pasta section), a fish filet and generously top all with the Cajun Sauce.

*The picture was taken when I made it for Scott's birthday, and he isn't a fan of crawfish.  I sliced shrimp lengthwise in half, seasoned it with Eric's crawfish seasoning and quickly stir-fried it; then I added it when I added the crabmeat.