Hatch Green Chile Pasta with Chicken and Green Chile Cream Sauce

This Southwestern Pasta recipe using Hatch Chile pasta is then mixed with a wonderful and slightly spicy cream sauce and chicken.

Cuisine Southwestern

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 483kcal

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cubed and sauteed
1 tablespoon Neutral oil Canola or vegetable oil work well here
½ pound Bucatini Pasta or plain pappardelle pasta, or fettuccini
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup half and half or cream
1 cup spinach packed
¼ cup chile peppers roasted, seeded, peeled and chopped.
¼ teaspoon Chimayo chile powder medium heat, or ancho chile powder
½ cup Muenster cheese or Parmesan, grated
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon Fresh ground black pepper
Garnishes: Crumbled Cotija cheese, thin sliced jalapeno peppers, chives, or a sprinkle of New Mexico Red Chile Powder all optional

Cube chicken breast into bite sized pieces and season with Southwest Spice Mix.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat and then add neutral oil. Add cubed chicken breast and cook until no longer pink inside, but don't over cook.
In a saucepan, melt butter. Add half and half and heat through. Slowly bring to a simmer.
Add spinach, chile powder and parmesan cheese. Cook on low until spinach is wilted. This will only take a minute or so. Add chile peppers and cooked chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off burner, cover, keeping warm.
In a large saucepan, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add salt and pasta. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
When pasta is cooked through, drain, reserving ¼ cup pasta water. Add pasta to Cream mixture. Turn burner on low, if it needs to be warmed up. Drizzle in a little bit of the pasta water to add starch and creaminess.
Divide between two plates, serve immediately and top with crumbled Cotija cheese for garnish if you'd like.

Tips for Success:

Don't let the half and half come to a full boil. The fat content of half and half is lower than cream and it will curdle if allowed to get too hot. When cooking the sauce, keep the heat on low and the half and half at a low bubbling simmer.
If the green chile pasta sauce is too thin, make a slurry using 1 Tablespoon corn starch and 1 Tablespoon of the warm cream sauce. Stir to make a paste and add it back into the sauce. Simmer it for a few minutes and the sauce will thicken.
Want to make this recipe extra special? Order some Hatch Green Chile Pappardelle from Pappardelle's Pasta, a Colorado local company.