Shrimp Pasta with Poblano Cream Sauce
This shrimp pasta with poblano cream sauce is rich, flavorful, and slightly smoky from the poblano pepper, giving it a subtle depth you don’t usually get in a standard cream sauce. The sauce is smooth and velvety, coating the pasta perfectly, while the shrimp add a light, tender bite that balances the richness. It feels like a restaurant-quality dish with a unique Tex-Mex twist, but still comes together as an easy, satisfying meal.
Ingredients
- 1 pound linguine
- 6 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 medium poblano pepper
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup Mexican crema
- 1 pound medium shrimp shelled, deveined, and tails removed
- Fresh thyme and parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously, then add the pasta. Cook until aldente. Before draining, reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta andset aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, chop the poblano pepper and the onion. Mince the garlic.
- Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet. Add the pepper and onion and cook untilthey are starting to soften, about 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additionalminute.
- Sprinkle the flour over and stir to combine. Let this cook for another minute or two. Slowlywhisk in the chicken broth. Let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes, or until it hasslightly thickened.
- While the sauce is thickening, warm the crema. You can do this in a small pot on the stoveor in the microwave. Once the sauce is slightly thickened, turn off the heat and stir in thewarmed crema. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and process untilsmooth.
- Wipe the skillet out and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. When melted, add theshrimp and cook until the shrimp are pink. This will only take a couple of minutes. Pour thepoblano sauce over the shrimp and stir to combine.
- Add the pasta and stir to combine. (I think this is easiest to combine everything in thepasta pot - it’s bigger and easier to stir everything together without making a mess.) Ifneeded, add some of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce. Season to taste withsalt and pepper.
- Serve topped with fresh thyme and grated parmesan.