Loaded Cajun Potato

Loaded Cajun Potato

This is an incredible dish. It’s sophisticated a seafood lover’s dream meal. It’s perfect for a dinner party and also nice if you want to spoil a loved one with a special birthday or anniversary surprise.

COOK TIME: 1 hour 35 minutes

INGREDIENTS

For the loaded potatoes:

• 4 large russet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ cup crawfish tail meat
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• ½ pound cleaned tail-on shrimp
• Cajun seasoning to taste
• Olive oil as needed

For the sherry sauce:

• 2 diced shallots
• 2 cups dry sherry
• 1 cup stock from the shrimp
• 8 ounces shredded Italian blend cheese
• ½ cup crawfish tail meat
• ¼ cup brandy
• ¼ cup crawfish juice from the crawfish package
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup diced green onions

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Rub olive oil over the potatoes, grind over some salt, wrap them in foil and bake until tender.
3. Melt half the butter in a pan, then add the garlic and shallots and simmer for 3 minutes.
4. Add the shrimp and Cajun seasoning.
5. Cook for 3 minutes or until the shrimp are done.
6. Pour in the brandy and flambe it (set it on fire), stirring all the time.
7. When the flames go out, add the wine, shrimp stock and crawfish juice.
8. Cook until the liquid has reduced by about half.
9. Stir in the cream.
10. Stir in the rest of the butter.
11. Add the crawfish tail meat and cook for about 2 minutes.
12. If the sauce is thicker than alfredo sauce, add a little chicken stock to thin it.
13. If it’s too thin, add a touch more cream.
14. Now cut open the potatoes and top with the cheese.
15. Bake for 6 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
16. Spoon the sauce over the top and serve right away, garnished with green onion.

CAN YOU MAKE IT AHEAD?

You can bake the potatoes ahead but the rest should be cooked just before serving.

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS:

Leftovers will be fine for a couple of days in the fridge.

VARIATIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS:

You can microwave the potatoes instead of baking them to save about 50 minutes of cooking time. Also, use different kinds of seafood if you want.