Cooking tip: Just because a recipe uses conventional ingredients doesn’t mean you are obligated to use them. Granted, substituting ingredients when baking a cake or bread doesn’t work out that well. There is some science-y stuff that happens with the leaveners like yeast and baking soda that can fail when you substitute. But making a down-to-earth pasta dish is a kinder, gentler experience. You can substitute to your heart’s content in this recipe for Creamy Pasta Poblano with Garlic Shrimp.
Creamy Poblano Pasta with Garlic Shrimp is Your Dish
There are so many customizable ways to enjoy food anymore. I grew up when there were not so many choices. There was flour, meat and milk and you pretty much knew what you were going to get. And, there were no questions. That why I really love creating recipes that you can customize for your diet.
Try one of the alternative sour cream products out there, such as fat free or low fat versions, and even pro-biotic sour cream. There is a brand of cultured cottage cheese that would use in this recipe too. The amount substituted would be the same as what is called for in the recipe below. However, the nutritional information would change.
Also, if you are lactose intolerant, you can use tofu or cashew-based yogurt instead of dairy sour cream. And instead of topping with parmesan cheese, you can garnish with roasted ground pumpkin seeds or tree nuts, such as pecans or walnuts. This dish will assemble easily with any of these alternatives.
Substituting is great Way to Learn to Cook
Another alternative for this dish is to serve it hot, cold or room temperature. Simply chill or heat the sauce according to your taste, and boom: it’s a different dish. Sometimes when I am in a hurry, I drain the pasta, and simply toss it with the chilled sauce.
For even further substitutions, you can switch out the shrimp for chicken, steak, fish, or roasted carrots and eggplant. I mean really, this is such a convertible dish you can have it anyway you like it. My choice is to simply have it more often.
Instead of regular sour cream can Mexican Crema be used in this dish?
Hi Patty! Yes, you can use regular sour cream but thin it with a few tablespoons of milk so it will have the same consistency as Mexican crema. Enjoy!