Crawfish au Gratin

Ingredients

• 1 lb peeled crawfish tails
• 12 oz bowtie pasta
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 stick butter
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ lb cheddar cheese
• ½ jar cheese sauce
• ½ oz parsley flakes
• 1 C milk
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbs water

Directions

1. Sauté Base: Melt butter and sauté vegetables and parsley over low heat 5 minutes. Add crawfish and seasonings; sauté 5 minutes more.
2. Make Cheese Sauce: In a double boiler, melt cheese with cheese sauce and milk. Stir in egg yolks, then add the cornstarch mixture and simmer 5 minutes until thickened.
3. Combine: Stir cheese sauce into the crawfish mixture and let stand off heat.
4. Par‑Cook Pasta: Bring 4 cups salted water to a boil. Add bowtie pasta and cook for half the package time until very chewy. Drain.
5. Assemble: Mix pasta into the crawfish-cheese sauce and transfer to a casserole dish.
6. Bake: Bake at 350°F for 10-15 minutes, until pasta is al denté and the dish is heated through.

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