It’s that time of year! Crawfish boil! Should you, by any chance, have leftover corn, potatoes and crawfish (not likely, I admit), save it all to make these crisp-roasted potatoes crowned with a melting mess of crawfish tails, corn kernels and cheddar cheese. If you have crawfish boil potatoes, skip the first part of the recipe and go straight to smashing them on a sheet pan. You can make this recipe with any boiled potato, and with different toppings, like sautéed mushrooms or leftover pulled pork.
Ingredients
- ½ gallon water
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- ½ tablespoon cayenne
- 1 onion, peeled and diced
- 3–4 celery stalks, diced
- 1 head garlic, cut through in half
- 1 bay leaf
- 20 small red-skin potatoes
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar
- 1 cup cooked and peeled crawfish tails
- ½ cup cooked sweet corn kernels
Preparation
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Grease a sheet pan with olive oil.
Add the water to a stockpot; add salt, cayenne, onion, celery, garlic and bay leaf and bring to a boil on high. Reduce heat to medium, cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the potatoes, bring back to a boil and reduce heat to low to boil the potatoes until soft when pricked with a fork (about 15–20 minutes).
Drain the potatoes from the stock and let cool.
Place the boiled potatoes on the sheet pan (with space between them to spread out when you smash them). Use the palm of your hand (or use a wooden spoon) and gently but firmly press on the potatoes to flatten to about ½ inch. Drizzle with olive oil (a few drops to each potato) and place in the hot oven to roast for about 10 minutes. Take out, divide crawfish and corn kernels on top of each potato, add about a tablespoon grated sharp cheddar to each, and put back in the hot oven to roast for another 5–8 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the potatoes are crispy.
