This recipe combines land, sea and plant for a flavorful dish that coats the pasta in a delicious poblano sauce adding some heat to the dish.  I used a bit of sour cream in the sauce, although if you are dairy-free, this could be eliminated.  The sauce is substantial enough even without the sour cream, but I do like how it enchances the smooth consistency and love the flavor.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

  • 4 Poblano peppers
  • 2 medium zucchini, 1/2″ dice
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1 head garlic
  • 1 bunch cilantro, plus more for garnish
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 -3/4 cup vegetable stock
  • 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 5 beef sausages, sliced on the bias
  • 1 lb curly pasta of choice
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, approximately
  • 2 teaspoons greek seasoning
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:  Preheat oven to 400.  Place poblanos on foil lined baking sheet and roast for about 45 minutes, until skins are charred and blistered.  Remove from oven and wrap in foil to let poblanos cool in foil.  Reduce oven to 375, and cut off top of garlic head, so all cloves are exposed. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top and wrap in foil.  Place wrapped garlic and quartered onion, drizzled with another tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper and place in oven to roast about 40 minutes until onion is tender and slightly charred.  (Garlic may need to roast another 10-15 minutes).  Once cooled, remove skin from poblanos, squeeze roasted garlic from garlic head and place onion and cilantro in a food processor.  Pulse to combine until finely chopped and slowly add stock, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, sour cream (if using), 3 teaspoons of cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet with a tablespoon of oil and saute sliced sausage on medium heat for about 5 minutes until cooked through, stirring frequently.  Set aside on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Discard all but a tablespoon of oil from skillet and reheat pan to medium high, add diced zucchini to the pan and toss for 5 minutes until charred and cooked, seasoning with salt and pepper and garlic powder. Remove from pan and place with reserved sausage.  Cook your pasta according to package directions to al dente, reserving a cup of cooking liquid. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, saute your shrimp in same skillet with reserved oil from sausage and zucchini.  Pat shrimp dry and ightly dust the shrimp with flour to remove any excess moisture and sprinkle with greek seasoning on either side. Reheat skillet to medium high and add shrimp. Sear shrimp for about 3-4 minutes a side until cooked through.

Drain pasta, place pasta back in cooking pot and add prepared poblano sauce and reserved pasta liquid, if needed to thin sauce. Stir the sauce with the pasta until well incorporated and adjust seasonings to taste. Transfer to serving dish and toss in sausage, zucchini and shrimp. Garnish with additional cilantro and serve immediately. Enjoy!