Creamy Cajun Pasta
I’ll start off by saying that any Cajun pastas feel so overdone. Cajun Chicken Pasta – check. Its yummy. Its recognizable. But we get it.
Well, my dear sister-friend Molly has been an avid supporter of my cooking, a true taste-tester and recipe-tryer & lover of the blog (in the making) for yeeeeears.
She, like me, and probably many of you, enjoys pasta in its many forms. So, she started this ball rolling when she sent me a video of a tasty but basic-looking Orzo Cajun Pasta & was like “can you make this better?” umm HELL YES I can, challenge accepted!
I’ll admit, I did not start off with the traditional Mirepoix that is used in true Cajun cooking – I love that base & the ingredients, but I don’t need carrots or celery in my pasta dish, you feel me? I do, however, start with a Mirepoix in Mamaw’s Chicken & Dumplings, but we’ll save that for a rainy day *wink* Winter is Coming.
how to do the things.
I won’t lie. The thing I struggled with the most when thinking up this recipe was trying to figure out the order of operations. I knew I needed to cook the proteins each separately to ensure I didn’t overcook them, while still being efficient and not burning the shit out of the bottom of my pan. It was a process. I took way too many pictures, so buckle up. But at the same time, they are necessary to show you just exactly how each step went down with each ingredient. I feel super lucky & grateful that I only had to make this recipe once to feel good enough to share it with you fine people. I will go ahead & say this recipe deserved a sprinkling of something green at the end – green onions cut thin & on the bias – FA SHO. Don’t worry, its on my list for next time, I just didn’t think it would have been fair that I photographed this trial without that final touch that I thought of later – which for now I feel stupid. Carry on.
OH. And my favorite part of all? I also use a big ole splash of an exciting secret ingredient to deglaze the pan from cooking all the proteins in batches – again, trust me, it was SO worth it. Made it a recognizable favorite, but kinda-sorta-not really!
how to make it different.
I wanted my Creamy Cajun Pasta to look, taste & feel just like the title. I wanted allllll the creaminess, allllll the cajun-ness & I wanted MULTIPLE proteins. Because I’m an asshole like that. Well, it turned out to be a wild success. Not exactly a difficult recipe, but it requires lots of prep & some patience. So, let’s just say it doesn’t count as a week-night friendly recipe, but worth every single step, I’ll tell you that much.
I’ll also go ahead & defend myself that I didn’t use fresh garlic for this recipe. Some of you may say that’s a big “no-no” and I’ll say “I don’t give a shit” – I chose to use granulated garlic because I wanted the garlicky taste to truly be part of the creamy saucy outcome, rather than just part of the veggies. Decisions were made. Deal with it.
Let’s get to it!
Ingredients
· ½ LB Chorizo sausage
· ½ LB Chicken Breast, cut into chunks
· ½ LB peeled & deveined shrimp, medium size
· 1 can, 15 oz diced tomatoes
· 1 box, 16 oz Cavatappi Pasta
· 1 small yellow pepper, diced
· 1 small red pepper, diced
· 1 medium Vidalia Onion, sliced thin
· 3 TBS Salted Butter, divided
· 1 TBS Olive Oil
· 4 oz Light Cream Cheese, softened
· 1.5 cup Fat Free Half & Half
· ¼ cup Vodka (yeeeeyuhhhh)
· ½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
· 1 TBS Cajun Seasoning – any kind you like!
· 1 TBS Garlic Powder
· 1 TSP Cumin
· ¼ TSP Louisiana Pepper Xchange Cayenne (optional)
· S+P, to taste
· 1 TBS All Purpose Flour
Instructions, 1
You know the drill by now – Mis En Place.
Order of Operations – also very important.
Also — I told you I too too many pictures so get ready.
Don’t be a dummy & cut all your proteins first because then you’ll be like SHIT, gotta wash the cutting board, the knife, my hands……cut your veggies first. Damn.
Mix the Cajun Spice, Cumin & Garlic powder together in a small bowl. Use 1 TBS of spice to sprinkle over per protein while cooking!
Slice & Dice both bell peppers and vidalia onion. Transfer to a bowl.
Cut the chicken into sizeable chunks & prep the shrimp if needed.
I started by cooking my shrimp first – I didn’t cook them all the way either so they could rest without getting rubbery, and then cook the final minute when thrown back into the pot with everybody else! Don’t forget to season each step with S+P as well!
Melt 1 TBS of butter in a large sauté pan or heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat.
Drop in the shrimp. Season with S+P and seasoning mix stir around for about 2 minutes. The shrimp will be slightly pink but not cooked all the way through. Remove them from the pan with tongs & transfer to a bowl – cover & tent with tin foil.
Instructions, 2
Next, I cooked the chicken – melt 1 TBS of butter in the same sauté pan and repeat the process with the shrimp – but obviously please cook the chicken longer. LORD. Season with S+P and seasoning mix, stir the chicken around for about 7 -9 minutes.
NOW THE FUN STEP.
While your chicken is still cooking away in the pan, measure out the ¼ cup of Vodka. Angels should be singing by now…..
Carefully pour the vodka all around the pan & use a wooden spoon to start scraping up any bits leftover by the shrimp & chicken. Give the vodka a minute or two to settle down and the chicken will absorb a bit as well – oh yea. It’s all coming together. Remove the chicken from the pan & add to the same bowl with the shrimp.
SHIT. I forgot to tell you to boil water. Oh well. Boil some water for the pasta. Now would be good.
Instructions, 3
Finally, I cooked the peppers & onions and Chorizo. With the vodka still accumulating a small puddle at the bottom of the pan, add in the last TSP of butter & swirl around some olive oil if needed.
Add in the peppers & onions and Chorizo. The peppers and onions will soften beautifully with the fat from the Chorizo. It will smell SO damn good.
Saute the peppers & onions and Chorizo for a good 10 minutes or so. The peppers & onions will be translucent & the Chorizo will be browned & ready to welcome more spice!
Sprinkle in the 1 TBS of flour & allow that to absorb any residual liquid or grease.
Is your water boiling yet?! It should be! Salt it well & drop in your pasta – cut 2 minutes off the boil time because nobody wants a super chewy or soggy pasta.
Add in the ¼ TSP of Cayenne Puree if you so choose – this will really amp up the flavor. But if you choose to leave it out, ZERO shame – that shit can get hot! The dried Cajun spice was almost too much for me, so I feel that.
Continue to stir around everything & slowly pour in the cup of Half & Half.
The flour that was sprinkled in earlier has had a chance to warm up – the Half & Half will help turn it into a beautiful sauce & tighten up!
Once the liquid has been added, drop in the 4 oz of Cream Cheese and stir to combine.
By the spoonful, drop in heaps of Grated Parmesan Cheese – a tomato-vodka-cajun alfredo of sorts will start to take form!
Instructions, 4
Open the can of diced tomatoes & add that into the Chorizo-pepper-half & half-mixture. Allow the tomatoes to cook & soften up a bit. About 5 minutes on medium-low heat.
Is your pasta done boiling yet?! It should be!
Drop in your pasta, salt the boiling water well – remember to set a timer for 2 minutes LESS than what the directions say.
When your pasta is finished boiling, scoop out about ½ cup of pasta water & set aside.
Has your sauce gotten too thick? – add in that extra ½ cup of Half & Half – give it a taste!
Maybe you need a smattering of more parmesan cheese – maybe you need a hit of more S+P. Now is the time to make the final changes!
Strain / Drain your pasta & add directly back into the pot with everyone else.
Give it all a good stir!
Add the shrimp & chicken back in – turn the heat down to low & allow everyone to simmer for a bit.
Give it all a good stir!
If your pasta looks a little dry or not saucy enough, dribble in some of the reserved pasta water & give it another good stir!
The peppers & onions should have cooked down perfectly. The chunks of chorizo should play beautifully with your silky cajun-vodka alfredo!
The chicken & shrimp should be delectable bites!
The tomatoes are a welcome reprieve from the overall heaviness of the dish.
Serve immediately & sprinkle shredded parmesan cheese on top.
VOILA!
Overdone but not Overplayed.
As much shit as I talked above about Cajun Chicken Pasta being overdone ((because it is)) does not mean I don’t enjoy it like everyone else. I’m simply over the simplicity of pasta, chicken & a spicy alfredo. Where is the adventure?? ((chorizo & shrimp)) Where is the extra spice?? ((Louisiana Pepper Xchange)) where is the decadence?? ((vodka))
Truly, having a push from a dear sister-friend gave me the gumption I needed to take a few extra ingredients to make something simple into something special. It is delicious, it covers all the bases & the vodka deglaze really brings it round the corner. I was astounded that ¼ cup of good vodka can transform a sauce. I love a good hearty alfredo, but the vodka really helped keep things lighter in addition to the fatty chorizo – it was much needed & much appreciated.
I know we are in the throes of summer – or as we like to call it “the devils anus” – but this dish is worth the extra heat! Or put this in your memory bank for winter for a good hit of spice! Either way, stay cool y’all & send any other ideas you want me to jazz up, I love hearing from you!
Thanks for stopping by!
I appreciate you stopping by! If you loved it, I’d love to hear from you.
If you hated it, then same.
Have a great day & look for my next entry!
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