NM08 - Cuisine — Fruits of the Vine

Alongside our breathtaking scenery and our celebration of cultures, New Mexico is known for its food. And it makes sense; our climate and culture create our cuisine. Open your taste buds to adventure here in the Land of Enchantment to delight in the symphony of flavors of our chile-laden dishes and our local wines.

It’s important not to confuse traditional New Mexico cuisine with that of our neighbor to the south, Mexico. Here, chile is royalty. Beyond being our favorite ingredient, chile is a source of regional pride. In fact, our official state question is “Red or Green?” referring to the oft-asked restaurant question of if you’d like red or green chile on your order. If you love them both and can’t decide, you can answer “Christmas,” meaning half-and-half red and green. Green tends to be meatier and softer; red is powdered and mixed into broths for stew. You’ve seen ristras, red chiles tied together and hanging from homes. This is done traditionally to let the red chile dry out so it can be easily ground. Of course, ristras are beautiful and make the quintessential New Mexican decoration and souvenir.

Classic New Mexico dishes included enchiladas, tamales, posole, tortillas, sopaipillas, carne adovada, green and red chile stews, chiles rellenos, and a slew of other simple yet colorful, flavorful dishes that were developed centuries ago based on ingredients that grow well in our climate. Not long after the Spanish arrived with their livestock and Old World cuisine, they married their culinary sensibilities with that of the Native Americans who lived here primarily growing corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins and hunting small game. As the two cultures merged, yet retained their individual identities, New Mexico cuisine was created.

Carne Adovada was developed originally by the Spanish as a way to preserve pork. Like salt, red chile retards spoilage — a tip the Spanish learned from the Indians. The dish is a simple preparation of slow roasted pork that has marinated in a red chile and herb marinade.

A truly native dish that is the bowl of many blessings is posole (pronounced “po-sol-y”), a dish made from lime-soaked corn kernels. It is stewed with well-browned pork bits, chiles, and herbs. It is quite flavorful. Posole is a reverent dish due to the fact that posole is the Mother process for preserving corn, and corn in the Native religions is the Giver of Life.

Chiles rellenos (pronounced “re-yen-os”) are another traditional favorite. They are green chiles stuffed with cheese and crusted with a meringue or corn crust and fried. They are quite good as a main dish or side dish.

Sopaipillas (pronounced “soap-a-pe-yas”) can be stuffed with meat and chile as a meal, or filled with honey as an after-dinner treat. They are different here, as our altitude allows them to puff up just right, hence their name, which means “little pillows.”

A common question people ask is “Which chile is hotter?” That depends. Red chile is ripe chile, they’re the same fruit (although it’s listed as our official state vegetable). How long the chile has simmered, how much or little water the chile received while growing and other factors affect the heat of chile season to season. If you’re nervous about the potential heat, order the chile on the side. Here’s another tip: sour cream and milk cut the heat of the chile; water won’t do you much good when your tongue’s on fire, though ice can numb it.

And that’s another point: Chile shouldn’t hurt. It should have enough kick to engage your endorphins, while complementing your meal. Chile is like a “runners high” on a plate. In fact, chiles are very good for you. Capsaicin, the substance that gives chiles their heat, is an amazing antioxidant, which is an inhibitor of cancer. Chiles are cited as being great for your heart, vascular system, digestion (some could argue this), skin, and your waistline (though tortillas are not). This is good news, because chiles are habit forming, nearly an addiction for some people. Maybe this is why they’ve entered into New Mexico pop culture so readily. From clothing to songs, chiles are ubiquitously celebrated all throughout New Mexico.

Something else that’s become celebrated nationwide are our wines. Many people don’t know that first American wines were made here in New Mexico. The priests, Jesuits, and monks brought the first grape cuttings here in the 1620s from Spain to make sacramental wine, thus predating the California wine industry by 140 years. Floods along the Río Grande and Prohibition in the 1920s wiped out the vineyards that were here. The art was rediscovered in the 1980s and ’90s, and the vineyards planted then have matured today to produce award-winning vintages, from the hot, sandy soil of southern New Mexico to the cool nights in northern New Mexico. The diverse climate, seasons, and altitude that are found throughout the state mirrors regions of Europe and California, and produce an incredible variety of excellent wines. It’s great fun to visit any of the more than 50 wineries throughout the state, sampling their art and speaking with the fascinating folks who have turned their passion into a successful business. We toast our success at several wine festivals throughout the year, the largest being the Bernalillo Wine Festival during Labor Day weekend, and the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta in September, which neatly combines our two favorite obsessions.

So order your enchiladas Christmas and make a toast to the history and passion that goes into our exciting cuisine.

Jane Butel has long-explored New Mexico cuisine and has published 18 cookbooks, several being best sellers. She operates a full-participation cooking school and Southwestern product business at www.janebutelcooking.com, (800) 473-8226. Her school has been rated at Gayot.com as the “Best in the U.S.” and by Bon Appetit magazine as one of the four best in the world.