Fried Crawfish Salad with Mirliton Relish and a Creole Mustard Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 mirliton, boiled, peeled, seeded, cut into a small dice
• 3 Italian Roma tomatoes, seeded and cut into a small dice
• 1/4 cup small diced red onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound crawfish tails
• Essence, recipe follows
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup masa
• 1 cup Creole Mustard dressing (basic mayonnaise dressing with Creole mustard)
• 4 cups assorted baby salad greens
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Garnish:

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• Edible flowers

Directions

Preheat the fryer. In a small mixing bowl, combine the mirlitons, tomatoes, red onions, garlic, and parsley. Toss the vegetables with extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Marinate the crawfish tails in the buttermilk, seasoned with Essence. Allow the crawfish to marinate for 10 minutes. Mix the cornmeal and masa together. Season the mixture with Essence. Remove the crawfish from the buttermilk and add to the cornmeal mixture and toss to coat evenly. Shake off any excess.

Deep fry a few at a time until they pop to the surface and are golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain on paper-lined plate. Season with Essence. Toss the greens with the dressing. Season with salt and pepper.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Yield: 2/3 cup