Thursday, November 11, 2010

Linguini in Tex-Mex Pepper Cream Sauce

Sweet bell peppers, green chiles, garlic and sour cream blend together for this speedy Tex-Mex inspired dinner.

Was that me who said they never wanted to eat again after last weekend? No, it couldn’t be. It must’ve been some other silly woman who gorged herself and complained about it.

Linguini in Tex-Mex Pepper Cream Sauce

Printer Version
Pureeing the ingredients together in a food processor makes this a very quick weeknight meal.


1/2 cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitos), found in the bulk isle
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cilantro, plus more for garnish
4-ounce can mild diced green chiles
2/3 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
1 pound linguini pasta

1. Place the pumpkin seeds on a plate and microwave in 30 second increments 3 to 4 times until toasted. Set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers and salt and cook until tender stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Meanwhile cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions

3. Place the veggie mixture into a food processor with sour cream, cilantro, green chiles, cheese, cayenne and black pepper. Puree until smooth scraping the sides as needed.

4. Toss the pasta with the sauce. Plate and garnish with pumpkin seeds and cilantro.

Recipe & photograph by Laura Flowers.


30 comments:

Krysta said...

Oh Laura! That looks divine!

Monet said...

Yum! Here in Austin, we are all about the South west flavors. This looks amazing! I bet this would be great with some black beans on top. Thank you for sharing...I hope your Friday is delightful!

Jacqueline said...

This looks fantastic. I am craving pasta lately. Your flavors look so interesting. I love the pepitas in there. I could eat southwest/Mexican food almost every day with a little Italian thrown in.

kindred spirit said...

Perfecto....where do you find your recipes that you blog about! Good job, love this one. I look forward to trying it!

Vivi

FamilySpice said...

Who says pasta is just for the Italians! Looks amazing!

Chelsea said...

Yum! Such a unique blend of ingredients. Mexican food is a common dinner in my house, this will be a nice change from the usual taco :)

Tia said...

looks so easy and so fantasitc!

Carolyn said...

This sounds wonderful. I know my husband and I would both love this. I am saving it to make soon!

Heather said...

That sounds absolutely fantastic.

VegeCooking Club said...

I have a strange feeling I would end up gorging myself on this too.

The Cooking Photographer said...

Hi Vivi,

What is my own I write a credit at the bottom, but what belongs to someone else I write a credit for them there. Though lately, I’ve been leery of writing about others’ recipes do to getting my butt chewed by a certain famous pastry chef for posting one of their recipes, even though I wrote a story about them and gave them loads of credit. So lately, it’s been just mostly my own work.

My inspiration comes from all kinds of places. Region, season, family, friends, mood, cookbooks, pictures, blogs, what's in the fridge, what's exciting in ingredients, what my editors tell me they want, what's in my liqueur cabinet, magazines, historical cookbooks and so on. I live food. It's my passion and profession.

For this recipe I’d found a green chile pasta with sunflower seeds from an early 90s pasta cookbook. The concept was cool, but the recipe itself was weird, but it gave me this idea to make a Tex-Mex style pasta with pepitos that worked for my palette.

Laura

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

This looks absolutely delicious, Laura. I want it in my mouth right now 8).

Velva said...

Another beautiful dish! A real foodie, always looks forward to the next meal after the first has digested. It's no surprise that you enjoyed this dish.

~Lisa~ said...

This sounds like my kind of meal. My family would eat this up! And your photos as always are fab!

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Note to self - do not visit Laura's blog in the middle of the night while battling the occasional bout of insomnia. It will be torturous!

:)
ButterYum

Quay Po Cooks said...

Laura,
Beautiful food, beautiful photos, JUST BEAUTIFUL!

FOODalogue said...

Right after the Festival, I tweeted that I wasn't going to eat again until Thanksgiving...#fail!

This definitely appeals to me if you remember the ingredients in my Nature's Pride fiesta muffin.

Thanks again for doing the workshop. I really enjoyed it.

Tiffiny Felix said...

Oh, yes...just divine...

Velva said...

Hi Laura-
Thank you for your comment about the cocktails on my blog post. I enjoy discovering, experimenting and drinking cocktails. It is nice to know that the cocktail posts are enjoyed.
You asked me about orange bitters- you can easily find it in any liquor store. Bitters is essentially alcohol infused with herbs and spices.

I hope this is helpful.

Cheers!
velva

shaz said...

I'm up for anything I can whip up quickly! The sauce sounds like it would work great a a dip for corn chips too. Yum.

erica said...

oh my goodness! I think I need to add this to my menu this week. Looks so good!

xo

Lora said...

Wow. Fantastic dish. Thanks!

jkiel said...

Other than the cilantro (I'm allergic), this sounds divine!

blackbookkitchendiaries said...

i love how creative this dish is... so flavorful too.

Justine said...

Just made this tonite. It was good, but I actually prefer it as a dip! I only made 1/2 box of pasta, so I have half the sauce in the frig for tortilla chips tomorrow!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Dip is a great idea Justine! I'll try that too.

Anonymous said...

What a creative pasta dish!! I love the idea of bringing Tex Mex flavors to linguine - and it seems like it's pretty easy to make too which is great for a weeknight meal :) Btw - it was great meeting you and hanging out at FoodBuzz! Looking forward to following your blog and your awesome photographs :) Hope you have a great Thanksgiving and please do stay in touch!

The Texas Peach said...

Sounds delish! This recipe pairs two of my favorite foods together. Pasta & Tex Mex! Look forward to trying it!

Stephanie said...

Just got all the stuff to make this. Then realized I only have a small chopper and not a food processor. Even so, the processor won't hold everything. Any suggestions?

The Cooking Photographer said...

Hi Stephanie,

No problem. It's a bit messier, but not hard. Chop (puree) everything in batches in your little machine and don't worry about doing it all together. Just place the pureed ingredients into a bowl and stir together.

Laura

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