Creamy Roasted Poblano Pasta

Creamy Roasted Poblano Pasta: Silky strands of tagliatelle pasta twirled in a smoky, spicy, DELICIOUS Poblano Cream Sauce. There’s also hints of cilantro and garlic – yum! Perfect for date night, Friday night, or really, any night.

Valentine’s Day often comes along with boxes of chocolates, massive bouquets of red roses, and grand gestures, but if all my hubs presented me with was a giant bowl of this Roasted Poblano Pasta, I’d be one happy wife. He can’t cook, so we’ve come to an agreement. I’ll supply the pasta, he’ll supply the cliched arrangement of flowers from my favorite local shop.

I know a date night dinner normally might include filet mignon, lobster, or something equally fancy, but silky strands of tagliatelle intertwined in a smoky, spicy, CREAMY sauce sounds pretty phenomenal to me. If you really want to step your game up a bit, you could actually swap out the seared chicken for a little bit of shrimp or lobster. And of course, this does’t just have to be served on V-Day, it’s perfect for a fancy Friday night in or Sunday dinner.

The sauce is actually something I’ve been making for a few years now, and it. is. HEAVENLY. I love it when I’m looking for something creamy, but spicy, and a little outside the box.

Here’s what’s happening in the Poblano Cream Sauce

• Poblano peppers roasted until charred
• Lots of cilantro
• Garlic (always garlic)
• Chicken Stock
• Heavy cream or half and half
• A jalapeño (if you REALLY like spicy), also roasted until charred

Here’s the thing. Sometimes poblano peppers have a bit of spice to them. Sometimes they don’t. The first time I made this pasta, the peppers were not nearly spicy enough for my taste. This is where the jalapeño comes in. What I like to do is roast all the peppers (poblanos and jalapeños), then taste the poblano peppers to see how spicy they are. If I feel like they need a little kick, I’ll add in a little bit of jalapeño. After blending the sauce, if I still think there needs to be a little more heat, I’ll add a little bit more. It’s really up to you, and remember, you can always add more spicy, but it’s hard to take away without adding more chicken stock or cream, and diluting the other flavors.

Roasting Poblano Peppers

If you’re a frequent reader here, you’re probably well-versed in roasted poblanos since I’ve posted my fair share of recipes that include them. (This Slow Cooker Poblano and Honey Lime Chicken and this White Chicken Butternut and Poblano Chili are favorites.) If you’re not a frequent reader here, or you’re not familiar with roasted peppers in general, it’s the best way to cook them. Basically you char the peppers over an open gas flame or under the broiler, and trap all of that steam and heat in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. After a few minutes, the peppers cook and wilt down, making it super easy to peel the skin off.

At this point, I love to chop them up and throw them in soups or tacos (see above), but here, they’re thrown into the blender with lots of cilantro, chicken stock, cream and a little bit of salt. Once the mixture is blended, it goes into the pot the pasta was cooked in, along with a little bit of garlic, and the rest of the cream. It’s simmered until the garlic cooks out, and then twirled with the tagliatelle.

As always, make sure to save some of the starchy cooking water to thin out the sauce a bit. Season with salt and pepper. Serve!

What to serve with Creamy Roasted Poblano Pasta

• Everyday Kale Salad
• Homemade Salted Caramel Oatmeal Cream Pies
• Pomeapple Martinis with Homemade Pineapple-Infused Vodka

Pretty things/Tools Used in Today’s Post:

• Staub Pot
• Wolf Blender
• More affordable Ninja blender

4.86 from 14 votes

Creamy Roasted Poblano Pasta

Prep: 15 minutes minutes

Cook: 30 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total: 45 minutes minutes

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This Creamy Roasted Poblano Pasta is packed with smoky poblano peppers, garlic, onion, and just a touch of cream. The spicy, super flavorful sauce is tossed with silky fettuccine noodles and served with grilled chicken.

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4 people

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 medium poblano peppers
• ▢ 2 medium chicken breasts, (about 1 pound)
• ▢ 1 1/4 tsp coarse kosher salt, divided
• ▢ 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• ▢ 2 tsp olive oil
• ▢ 8 oz fresh tagliatelle (you can also use dried)
• ▢ 1/2 cup packed cilantro
• ▢ 1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock
• ▢ 1 cup heavy cream, divided
• ▢ 1 large garlic clove
• ▢ pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• ▢ 2 tsp olive oil
• ▢ 1 cup fresh or frozen corn

Equipment

• stock pot
• blender

Instructions

• Char poblano peppers on all sides over a medium-high gas flame. If you don't have a gas stove, preheat the oven to broil. Make sure one rack in the oven is placed directly near the top of the oven where the broiler is. Place the peppers on a baking sheet. Slide them under the broiler. Watch carefully. When one side of the pepper is charred, slide the pan out and turn the pepper. Return to the oven and blacken/char them on all sides. Once all of the peppers are blackened/charred, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let them sit for 5 minutes to steam. Peel the skin off of the peppers, use a knife to remove the stems and seeds. 
• While the peppers steaming, season the chicken on both sides with 1/2 teaspoon salt, a little bit of black pepper, and ground cumin. Set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Season liberally with salt. Cook pasta until just shy of aldente, with fresh pasta this should only be about 3 minutes. Reserve about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the starchy pasta water. Drain pasta. Set aside. 
• While water comes to a boil and pasta cooks, add two roasted poblano peppers, cilantro, 1/2 cup chicken stock and 1/2 cup heavy cream to a blender. Blend until smooth. Slice third pepper into strips. 
• Once pasta is drained, add poblano cream sauce from the blender to the pot, along with remaining heavy cream, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Add cooked pasta, sliced peppers, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and corn. Toss until pasta has absorbed sauce. If needed, add some reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce up. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped cilantro. 
• As the sauce simmers, heat a medium skillet to a medium heat. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Add chicken. Cook 3-4 minutes per side until cooked through. Slice the chicken and serve on top of pasta. Garnish with extra cilantro.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 575kcal (29%), Carbohydrates: 56g (19%), Protein: 24g (48%), Fat: 29g (45%), Saturated Fat: 15g (94%), Cholesterol: 166mg (55%), Sodium: 874mg (38%), Potassium: 664mg (19%), Fiber: 4g (17%), Sugar: 6g (7%), Vitamin A: 1358IU (27%), Vitamin C: 75mg (91%), Calcium: 74mg (7%), Iron: 2mg (11%)

© Author: Nicole