Mexico · 35 min · Vegetarian · Main course · For beginners
Espagueti Verde
In German: Grüne Spaghetti · In English: Green Spaghetti
For 4 servings · US units
Green spaghetti in a creamy roasted poblano sauce with crumbled cheese and cilantro
Espagueti Verde is spaghetti tossed in a silky, pale green sauce of roasted poblano peppers, cream cheese and crema. The poblanos bring a mild, gently smoky flavor, and the creamy sauce makes the whole thing round and comforting. Add a shower of crumbled queso fresco or cotija, and you've got a pasta dish you'll want to make all year long.
Ingredients
- 8¾ ozspaghetticooked al dente; other pasta shapes work too
- 3roasted, peeled, stems and seeds removedA large, dark green, heart-shaped Mexican chili with thick walls, usually mild to medium hot and almost always roasted and peeled before use.Substitute: Anaheim or Hatch chilies come closest, being similarly mild and fleshy, though with somewhat thinner walls. A green bell pepper, roasted and peeled, holds its shape for stuffing but tastes sweeter and flatter; adding a jalapeño restores the heat, but not the earthy depth of the poblano.Read more
- 1½ cupsevaporated milkfor the sauce
- 6 ozcream cheesesoftened, for the sauce
- ¾ cupfor the sauceA lightly soured, pourable Mexican cream, milder and runnier than sour cream, drizzled over dishes.Substitute: Crème fraîche thinned with a little milk or cream comes very close to crema and also holds up to heat. Sour cream thinned with some cream works too, but it is noticeably more sour and can curdle in hot dishes.Read more
- 2 tbspbutterfor heating the sauce
- 1 ozonionroughly chopped, or 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tspchicken bouillon powderto season the sauce; omit for a vegetarian version (optional)
- 1 clovesgarlicblended into the sauce (optional)
- saltfor the pasta water and to taste
- 1¾ ozcrumbled, for toppingA young, unaged Mexican cow's-milk cheese: white, mildly salty and slightly tangy, with a crumbly texture.Substitute: The closest match is a mild feta soaked briefly in water to draw out salt, though it stays sharper and tangier. Ricotta salata or well-drained, lightly salted farmer's cheese match the crumbly texture, and paneer behaves similarly under heat but is firmer and blander.Read more
- leaves for garnish (optional)The fresh leaves of the coriander plant, with a bright, citrusy and slightly peppery taste.Substitute: There is no true substitute. Flat-leaf parsley, perhaps with a little lime zest, adds colour and green freshness but not cilantro's distinctive citrusy note.Read more
Method
- Char the poblanosSet the poblano peppers under a hot broiler and char them all over, turning them now and then, until the skin is blistered and dark on every side.
- Peel and seed the peppersTransfer the roasted poblanos to a bowl, cover it and let them steam for a few minutes. Then peel off the skins and remove the stems and seeds.
- Cook the spaghettiMeanwhile, cook the spaghetti in plenty of salted water until al dente. Before draining, scoop out a little of the pasta water and set it aside, then drain the pasta.
- Blend the saucePut the poblanos in a blender with the cream cheese, Mexican crema, evaporated milk and onion and blend until smooth. If you like, add a garlic clove and the chicken bouillon powder; for a vegetarian version, simply leave out the bouillon.
- Heat the sauce in butterMelt the butter in a pot, pour in the sauce and heat it for about 3 minutes, stirring, until it thickens slightly.
- Toss pasta with the sauceFold the spaghetti into the sauce and warm it over low heat for 1 to 3 minutes. If the sauce is too thick, loosen it with a splash of the reserved pasta water, then season with salt to taste.
- Plate and serveDivide the Espagueti Verde among plates, scatter crumbled queso fresco or cotija over the top, garnish with cilantro leaves if you like and serve hot.
Tips and variations
For a quicker version, skip the roasting and blend raw poblanos with cream cheese, evaporated milk and onion powder, then use fusilli instead of spaghetti. If you'd rather leave out the evaporated milk, make the sauce with just cream cheese and crema. Instead of roasting, you can also sauté strips of poblano with onion in butter, thicken the sauce with cornstarch and finish it with a sprinkle of corn kernels. And for a baked version, layer spaghetti, a sauce of poblanos, avocado and evaporated milk, and Chihuahua cheese in a buttered dish and bake until bubbling. Serve it straight from the pot while the sauce is still nice and creamy – and don't skip the salty cheese on top.
Allergens
Contains: Milk (including lactose)
Not every ingredient in this recipe has been checked, so nothing is promised as free from.
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
