Pasta Verde

I found this recipe on Serious Eats and marked it as a favorite right away for it's uniqueness.   Roasted poblano peppers (which I love) made into a pasta sauce?  Yum!  I finally got around to making it this past week and it was super tasty and a nice twist to your usual tomato or cream based pasta sauces.  I doubled their recipe and made a couple very slight changes.  This is a great vegetarian option and you could easily serve it with chicken to add some protein.

                                                 Ingredients:

• 4 large poblano chiles
• 1/4 cup cilantro, leaves only
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons salt, divided
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup Mexican crema, or heavy cream
• 4 ounces crumbled Cotija cheese 
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• Sriracha (optional)  

Directions:

Cover a large baking sheet with foil.  Slice the poblanos in half, and remove the seeds and core.  Place face down on the baking sheet.  Turn on your broiler, and place the peppers in the oven until the skins are blistered.  Rotate the pan as needed to make sure they are getting even coverage.  

Remove from the oven and place them in a bag or covered bowl to steam for 5-10 minutes.  When they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins.  

In a blender, combine the roasted poblanos, onion, garlic, cilantro, and chicken broth.  Blend until smooth.  

Meanwhile, heat a large pot of water with 5 teaspoons salt to a boil.  We used these little twisty noodles because they really hold the sauce well, but any pasta would be fine.  Cook the pasta as directed and drain in a colander when al dente.

To finish the sauce- heat the butter in a medium sauce pan.  Add the sauce with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Turn off the heat and stir in the crema.  

Mix the sauce in with the pasta, and serve with cotija cheese, sriracha (or hot sauce), and a squeeze of fresh lime juice for each bowl.  

The flavor of the charred peppers is amazing, and the crema lightens it up a bit.  It isn't really spicy on it's own so the sriracha adds some nice heat to the dish.  The lime juice brings it all together so don't leave it out!