Pasta con Crema de Loroco
This creamy, savory pasta simmers loroco in a delicious sauce built on chicken drippings, crema Salvadoreña, heavy cream, and melted queso duro blando for a deeply flavorful Central American-inspired dinner. Topped with sliced seared chicken and a generous shower of grated cheese, it's comfort food with serious flavor that comes together in just 40 minutes!
Servings: 4 servings
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
For the Pasta:
- 1 lb pasta of choice
- 1 tbsp salt for pasta water
For the Loroco Cream Sauce:
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 5 garlic cloves finely minced
- ¼ white onion finely diced
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 14 oz package Mucho Gusto Crema Salvadoreña
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup reserved pasta water
- ½ cup fresh or frozen loroco roughly chopped
- ¾ cup Mucho Gusto Queso Duro Blando finely grated, plus more for serving
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt plus more to taste
For Serving:
- Extra Mucho Gusto Queso Duro Blando finely grated
- Fresh flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Season the chicken breasts generously on both sides with garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and salt.
- Heat the neutral oil and butter together in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken breasts for 5–6 minutes per side until deeply golden and caramelized on both sides and cooked through to 165°F internally. Remove and set aside to rest — do not wipe the pan.
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining. Set aside.
- Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium. Add the butter to the same pan with all the chicken drippings. Once melted, add the diced onion and cook for 3–4 minutes, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan as the onion softens. Add the minced garlic and cook 30 seconds more until deeply fragrant.
- Add the loroco and stir into the butter, onion, and garlic mixture, cooking for 1–2 minutes until the loroco is fragrant and slightly softened.
- Pour in the chicken broth and stir to deglaze, scraping up any remaining browned bits from the bottom. Let it reduce by half, about 2 minutes, until deeply concentrated and fragrant.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Pour in the Mucho Gusto Crema Salvadoreña and heavy cream and stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 4–5 minutes until the sauce thickens noticeably and becomes deeply creamy. Add the grated Mucho Gusto Queso Duro Blando and stir until completely melted and fully incorporated into the sauce. Season with salt and black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Add the drained pasta directly to the sauce and toss aggressively to coat every strand, adding reserved pasta water a generous splash at a time until the sauce reaches a perfectly silky, pourable consistency that clings to every strand and pools slightly at the bottom of the pan.
- Slice the rested chicken breasts thinly against the grain. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl or plate directly from the skillet. Fan the sliced chicken generously over the top. Finish with a very generous grating of extra Mucho Gusto Queso Duro Blando, fresh chopped parsley, and a generous crack of fresh black pepper. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Don't wipe the pan after searing the chicken, those browned bits on the bottom are packed with flavor and become the foundation of the entire sauce.
- Add the loroco early enough to bloom in the butter and aromatics so its floral, herby flavor has time to open up and infuse the sauce.
- Reserve more pasta water than you think you need. The starchy water is what transforms the sauce from thick and heavy to silky and perfectly clingy.
- Grate the queso duro blando as finely as possible so it melts smoothly into the sauce instead of clumping.