Crawfish to Rice {Crawfish Omelets}

Crawfish season is winding down.  When the temps increase crawfish shells harden, making them difficult to peel.

Local farmers have been switching their ponds over to rice production.

I started a new job that puts me driving through the Cajun countryside just at daybreak.

I weave through a patchwork of crawfish ponds and newly germinated rice fields.  The roads are threads, tying together swatches reflecting the beginnings of sunrise and scraps of soft, green shoots damp with morning dew.

Wrapping up crawfish season is always a letdown for me.  Not only because abundance halts.  It marks the start of energy zapping heat.  It marks the end of the watery landscape I prefer, having grown up surrounded by water.

Some people have evidence of crawfish for a good part of the year, though.

The picture above is of a crawfish "chimney," often seen speckling people's lawns.

Crawfish burrow in the ground, bringing up the mud from the hole they create for themselves.  Laying it carefully in brick-like stacks to form the chimney.  While homeowners don't love these odd structures, it is a fascinating process.  Read about it HERE @ America's Wetland Resource Center: A Campaign to Save Coastal Louisiana.

 

Crawfish Omelets are a popular use for leftover crawfish.  I recently whipped up an omelet filling of crawfish, onion, peppers, and mushrooms.

The filling would also be good tossed with pasta or used in quesadillas.

While I made the filling, you can be certain I was not the one forming the omelets.  I have no patience for that.

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Crawfish Omelets

for the filling:
2 tsp olive oil, divided
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 small yellow onion, halved lengthwise then sliced into half rings
1 small bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 lb cooked crawfish tails (leftovers are great)
1 Tbsp chopped garlic chives
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
salt and black pepper to taste

Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and sear them, turning over to brown on both sides.  Remove mushrooms to a mixing bowl.

Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet and heat.  Add the onions and bell pepper.  Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring often, over medium heat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place the onion mixture, along with the crawfish and garlic chives, in the bowl with the mushrooms.  Mix all the ingredients and taste for seasoning.  When the filling cools a bit, fold in the cheese.

for the eggs:
butter
8 eggs for four 2 egg omelets OR 12 eggs for four 3 egg omelets
about 4 TBSP heavy whipping cream
salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat an oven safe nonstick skillet on low.  Add a small pat of butter.  Crack 2 or 3 eggs into a bowl.  Add about 1 TBSP cream, season with salt and pepper, and whisk until foamy.  When butter has melted, pour in the eggs and cook, stirring constantly.  Continue stirring until egg starts to set.

Place pan in the oven for 30 seconds to 2 minutes until top of eggs are set.  Remove from oven.  Add 1/4 of the filling on top of the eggs.  Shimmy out onto a plate and fold.  Repeat with more omelets and filling.

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