This is a recipe I used to make back when we lived in Austin and Hatch chiles were readily available. It’s a creamy baked pasta with a sauce made of pureed roasted chiles and sour cream. Where we live now, poblanos are a lot easier to come by than Hatch, so I’ve updated the recipe. It works well with regular or high fiber penne, so you can easily make this low carb with something like Carbe Diem or make it gluten-free with a gluten-free penne.
8-Inch Pan Size
The recipe was originally for a 9×13 inch pan of baked pasta. We rarely need that much, so I’ve scaled it down to fit an 8-inch pan, which is a reasonable size to serve as a side dish for 4 to 6. If you like it, can double it and use the larger dish. If you are serving 2 or 3, you can scale it down even more and bake in a smaller dish. I put those measurements in the notes.
From Hatch to Poblano
The original recipe called for Hatch chiles. I now use poblanos and have increased the amount since poblanos are slightly milder. If using poblanos, start with about ½ pound fresh. Once roasted and trimmed you’ll have a little over a quarter pound (130 grams) or so. You can roast the poblanos in the oven at 450 or just blister them under a broiler. I use the broiler on my Breville toaster oven, seal the blistered peppers in a zipper bag, then peel off the skin when cool.
Assemble
Assembly is pretty easy. You blend the roasted pepper with sour cream, a dash of sugar, and milk, then toss the roasted pepper mixture with cooked pasta and some of the cheese. Lay it in your dish, cover with foil, then bake. Uncover, add more cheese and bake until cheese melts. You can assemble a few hours ahead of time and bake later if you wish. Here’s my slightly smaller batch all mixed and ready to cover with foil and bake. I didn’t have any “Mexican blend” cheese and used another blend called 4 State Cheddar.
So this the new rendition of the recipe, and I hope you like it. Spice level will vary with your poblano because some are quite mild and others are surprisingly spicy! The original recipe is from the late Jean Andrews, an Austin cook who was known as The Pepper Lady and wrote The Peppers Cookbook. I’m sure she’d approve of the poblano switch.
Recipe
Hatch Chile Baked Penne
Creamy baked pasta dish made with Hatch chile peppers
Ingredients
- 2-3 large hatch chili peppers or Poblanos (go by weight) (220 grams or 120 grams already roasted)
- 5 cups water
- 1 teaspoon chicken or vegetable soup base or salt
- 7 ounces penne pasta
- 1 cup sour cream (or use half yogurt) (240 grams)
- 1 teaspoon sugar or honey
- 2 tablespoons cream, milk or half & half optional
- 1 cup shredded cheese, Mexican style mix Monterey Jack etc.
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Roast the Peppers (or Skip if Using Pre-Roasted)
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Roast the peppers. Slit the chili peppers down the center, scrape out the seeds and arrange on a large foil lined baking sheet. Broil until blistered. Transfer to a heavy duty freezer bag, seal, and let cool. When cool, remove from bags, peel away skins, chop. If using poblanos, you should have about 120-130 grams roasted.
Mix and Assemble
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Meanwhile, in a high speed blender, process the sour cream, sugar, chopped roasted peppers and milk (or cream)
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Drain the pasta and toss it with the sour cream mixture and ½ cup of the shredded cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste if you think it needs it. If using sour cream only, you probably won’t need extra salt. If using yogurt, you will.
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Arrange in a greased 8-inch square or small casserole dish and cover with foil. Bake at 375 F. for about 10 minutes, then sprinkle remaining cheese over the top. Bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Notes
For an even smaller dish, use ⅔ cup sour cream, 70 grams of roasted peppers, 1 big pinch sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons milk, ⅔ cup shredded cheese and about 4 ½ to 5 oz dry pasta. Reduce the water to about 3 cups and use a little less soup base or salt. The soup base is optional and just adds some flavor to the noodles.
