Crawfish Etouffee

It is hard to believe, but there are people alive who have never eaten crawfish. I won't name names, but I can't imagine how CC has made it -- number of years on this planet (it is really more for my benefit than his that I blocked the age - haha! Also, it should be noted that I was originally going to put XX as the year filler but realized that is the roman numeral for 20 and didn't want ANYONE to think that was the case, funny nevertheless), lived in the South, and never eaten a crawfish. So, since I'm visiting this person tomorrow (before heading to Miami with Emily) I decided to make crawfish etouffee. Here's what I started with (*Please note this is ALL of the counter space in my kitchen - I promise I am not exaggerating or being dramatic. I'll post a picture of my kitchen sometime and you'll understand why it's amazing that I can turn, let alone cook in there):

I melted 1/2 stick of butter in my pot then chopped up bell peppers (1/4 c. of red and 1/4c. of green), 1/2 c of onions, and 1/4 c. of celery and added them in:

Then, add 1/2 c. of tomatoes (without any juice), 2 bay leaves, and 3 cloves of garlic:

Cook on medium-high for about 7 minutes (until the vegetables are tender), stirring constantly so nothing burns or sticks:

Slowly mix in 3/4 c. of white flour to make a roux. It should have a "sticky" consistency: 

Add 1 lb. of crawfish tails (with fat and juice - healthy right?) and 2 Tablespoons of tomato paste:

Slowly add 3-4 c. of stock (chicken is ok, but seafood is preferred) until the consistency is that of a thick sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and stir occasionally for about 25-30 minutes, adding stock as necessary to keep the thickness:

Finally, add 1/4 c. parsley and 1/4 c. green onions:

Stir it all together:

While your etouffee is cooking you should make some plain white rice. When that is done, scoop the rice into a bowl and serve the etouffee on top:

...and it tastes even better than it looks!