Pasta Yaya Recipes

LOUISIANA CRAWFISH YA-YA PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly-salted water to a rolling boil; stir in the egg noodles and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through but is still firm to the bite, about 5 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the chopped onion, green pepper, garlic, and parsley. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the crawfish tails and Cajun seasoning; simmer 5 minutes longer.
• Pour in the heavy cream, mushrooms, and 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese; stir until the cheese has melted. Toss the pasta with the crawfish sauce and green onions; sprinkle with the remaining Cheddar cheese.

CAJUN PASTALAYA

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage and cook for 2 minutes. Add celery, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink inside and juices run clear, 5 to 7 minutes more. Add tomatoes, paprika, Creole seasoning, and cayenne pepper; bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add broth to the pot and return to a simmer. Add penne and simmer for 8 minutes. Add shrimp. Continue to simmer, stirring constantly, until pasta is tender but firm to the bite and shrimp are cooked through, about 7 minutes more.
• Stir in cream. Stir in thyme, oregano, and basil. Cook until just heated through, 3 to 5 minutes more. Serve topped with green onions and Parmesan cheese.

REAL CAJUN PASTALAYA

Steps:

• In a heavy pot that is NOT nonstick (I use Magnalite) brown sausage.
• After sausage is browned, remove from pot and add onions and bell pepper. Cook on medium-high heat in fat rendered from sausage (add butter or olive oil if needed) until wilted; about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic and cook a few more minutes.
• Add sausage back to pot along with chicken or which ever protein you choose, except if using shrimp).
• Add all remaining ingredients except green onions and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick to bottom. Reduce heat, cover, simmer for about 25 minutes, until pasta is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. If using shrimp, add it at this point.
• Remove from heat, stir in green onions. Serve hot. French bread is delicious with it and you can sop up the sauce.

PASTA YA YA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, melt butter and saute garlic and green onions for 1 minute.
• Add chicken and cook until chicken begins to turn white.
• add sausage, chicken stock and pasta.
• Simmer for 2 minutes.
• Add cream and reduce for 1 min.
• Add the spice mix and stir well.
• Serve.

YIA YIA'S SUNDAY SAUCE

Steps:

• What makes this sauce so good is the long, slow cooking time, which allows it to develop a complex flavor. It shouldn't simmer; there should be just a bubble rising to the surface every now and then. Meaty beef bones add more depth and complexity. (If you have beef stock, you can add two cups of it in place of the beef bones.) This sauce is chunky with abundant tomato and sliced garlic. Depending on what you're using this for, it can be served as is (over a very thick hearty pasta or as part of a braising liquid). But if you were to use it for an angel hair or as a sauce for sauteed veal, you would probably want to puree it in a blender until it's uniformly smooth. This sauce freezes well, so you can make big batches, portion it into smaller containers, and freeze it when you need it.
• Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan or large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, 2 minutes. Add the salt and garlic and cook until everything is soft but not browned, about 3 minutes.
• Squeeze the tomatoes one by one into the pan, pulverizing them by hand, and pour in their juice, too. Add the bones, wine, oregano, red pepper flakes, if using, black pepper and bay leaf. Bring the sauce to a simmer, and then reduce the heat to its lowest possible setting, and continue to cook for 8 hours. The sauce should reduce by about one-third.
• Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Remove the bones and bay leaf. If not using right away, let the sauce cool, then cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months.

GUMBO YA-YA

Steps:

• Heat 1/2 cup of the oil an 8-quart heavy-bottomed pot over medium to medium-high heat. Coat the chicken wings with 2 tablespoons of the Creole seasoning in a large bowl. Pour 1/4 cup of the flour over the chicken and coat evenly, then slowly add additional flour as needed until all of the chicken is completely coated (see Cook's Note). Working in batches, fry the chicken wings until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the wings to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
• Carefully add the remaining 1/4 cup oil to the pot and heat until smoking (there should be a thin faint white smoke coming off the oil). Whisk in the remaining 3/4 cup flour and cook, whisking continuously, over medium-high heat until it turns into a dark chocolate brown roux. If the roux is browning too quickly, remove the pot from the heat and continue whisking until the roux reaches the desired color. Turn the heat down to low and stir in the celery, onions and peppers with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the vegetables are coated with the roux, about 1 minute. Add the garlic, cayenne, bay leaves, thyme and 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning and turn up the heat to medium-high. Whisk in the chicken stock in three parts to make sure it's fully incorporated. Add the chicken wings, sausage, Worcestershire sauce and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning. Stir to combine.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, using a ladle to skim off any foam that rises to the top, until the gumbo is slightly reduced and thickened, about 1 hour. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Combine the green onions and parsley in a small bowl or on your cutting board.
• To serve, ladle the gumbo over bowls of cooked white rice and garnish with the green onion and parsley mixture.