This classic dinner dish for a hungry family is perfect for the entire family including the picky eaters you may have. This dish consists of well-cooked beef, soft cavatappi pasta, and thick and creamy sauce over the pasta.
If you are a not a big fan of spicy food or can’t get enough of the heat, feel free to ad as much or as little of the hot sauce as you like. After all you’re the chef here!
Tips and tricks:
Poblano: They are a large and heart shaped pepper, most used in Mexican dishes. Poblano peppers are only mildly spicy. They are hotter than banana peppers but not as spicy as jalapenos. peppers. Green bell peppers are the bell pepper that most closely resemble poblanos in looks and in flavor. The only slight difference is that poblanos are a little less sweet compared to green bell peppers.
Southwest Spice: You can find this spice is almost any near by grocery store but if you would like you could also make if at home. The spices that are used to make this are chili powder, paprika, ground coriander, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper. I would personally just bye it premade from the store because it will take a lot of work to find and blend all those spices, but hey if you want to make it by hand, go right ahead.
Smoky Red Pepper Crema: This crema has a rich creamy taste and a spicy kick to the sauce as well. In this dish we use the red pepper crema for the main sauce part of the dish. The red pepper crema thickens the sauce around the pasta and allows the dish to have more flavor. You can find this crema at a near by grocery store or you can make it at home. To make it you will need 2 red bell peppers, heavy cream, paprika, lemon juice, salt, ground white pepper, and cayenne pepper. Feel free to search up the exact recipe online but I would recommend buying it pre-made as it will allow you to save a lot of time.
Ingredients:
- 2 Poblano Peppers
- 2 Scallions
- 12 oz Cavatappi Pasta
- 20 oz Ground Beef
- 2 TBSP Southwest Spice Blend
- 3 oz Tomato Paste
- 4 TBSP Beef Stock Concentrates
- 4 TBSP Sour Cream
- 8 TBSP Smoky Red Pepper Crema
- ½ cup Mexican Cheese Blend
- 2 tsp Hot Sauce
Instructions:
1.) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and wash and dry all produce. Halve, deseed, and thinly slice poblano into strips. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens.
2.) Once water is boiling, add cavatappi to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. 9-11 min.
3.) Reserve 2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain. Meanwhile, heat a large drizzle of oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add poblano and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, 4-5 min.
4.) Add a drizzle of oil to pan with poblano; add beef and scallion whites. Season with Southwest Spice salt and pepper. Cook breaking up meat into pieces, until beef is browned and cooked through, 4-6 min.
5.) Add tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, 30 seconds
6.) Add ¾ cup reserved pasta cooking water and stock concentrates to pan with beef mixture. Season with 1 tsp salt and a pinch of pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thickened, 2-3 min.
7.) Reduce heat to low and stir in drained cavatappi, sour cream, smoky red pepper crema, the Mexican cheese, 2 TBSP butter, and hot sauce to taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8.) Top with scallion greens and serve
9.) Enjoy!
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