A pasta dish that’s great for that leftover crawfish

If you have not finished all the crawfish at your boil, or a friend’s for that matter, spending a few minutes gathering crawfish tails can lead to a terrific pasta dish the next day or two.  There is more than etouffee and stock that you can use the boiled and neglected crawfish.  A bright, simple and chucky marinara and the goodness of garlic, onions and peppers gives the crawfish a nice complement and pasta.  Don’t be put off by the number of ingredients or steps, this is actually quite easy.  It is an adaption of dish at Ciro’s, the longstanding Italian-American restaurant on I-10 in Spring Branch that's about to move into new digs at the new Hotel Za Za there.
 
Simply grab some boiled crawfish rip of the heads and legs and stick them in a plastic bag to take home and refrigerate.  You’ll have to remove the tail meat before preparing this dish, but you’ll be part of the way there.
 
Serves – 2 hearty portions

Crawfish sauce:
White Onion, diced – 1 medium
Bell Pepper, seeded and diced – 1
Garlic, finely chopped – 2 cloves
Crawfish tails – About 30
Salt – To taste
Black Pepper, freshly ground – To taste
 
Marinara sauce:
 
Canned peeled and diced tomatoes – 28 ounces
Garlic, chopped – 1 clove
Red pepper flakes – Pinch
Olive oil – 3 tablespoons
Salt – ¼ tablespoon
Black Pepper, freshly ground – Pinch
Fresh basil, chopped – 2 tablespoons
 
For the pasta:
 
Dried pasta like penne, farfalle or linguine – ½ pound
Salt – plenty
 
Cooking Steps:

1. Remove the crawfish meat from the refrigerated tails.
2. Prepare the marinara sauce – don’t use a garbage jarred pasta sauce – as this is easy and can be done while the pasta water heats and the crawfish sauce created.  Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat.  Add the garlic and cook until golden, but not brown.  Add the red pepper flakes and cook for about a minute.  Add the tomatoes then salt and pepper.  Cook for about 30 minutes.  Add the fresh boil soon before serving.
3. Heat the pasta water.
4. Begin the crawfish sauce by heating the olive oil over medium-low heat.  When warmed add the onion and cook until softened.  Add the bell pepper and cooked for about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add plenty of salt to the boiling water.  Slightly undercook the pasta according to the package directions.
6. Add the crawfish tails and cook for about 3 minutes.  As these are already cooked, you are essentially re-heating them and do not want to overcook them.
7. Add several scoops of the finished marinara sauce to the crawfish sauce and simmer for about 3 minutes.
8. Add the cooked pasta and heat for 1 minute.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste.  You likely need the former.

Crawfish from one of my boils a few years ago.