New Mexican cuisine

thumb|right|250px|Dried red New Mexico chile peppers

New Mexican cuisine is the regional cuisine of the Southwestern US state of New Mexico. It is known for its fusion of Pueblo Native American cuisine with Hispano Spanish and Mexican culinary traditions, rooted in the historical region of . This Southwestern culinary style extends it influence beyond the current boundaries of New Mexico, and is found throughout the old territories of Nuevo México and the New Mexico Territory, today the state of Arizona, parts of Texas (particularly El Paso County and the Panhandle), and the southern portions of Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. New Mexican cuisine not only spans a broad Southwestern geographic area, but it is also a globally recognized ethnic cuisine, particularly for the Oasisamericans, Hispanos, and those connected to caballero cowboy culture or anyone originally from New Mexico.

The evolution of New Mexican cuisine reflects diverse influences over time. It was shaped early on by the Pueblo people, along with nearby Apache and Navajo culinary practices and the broader culinary traditions of New Spain and the Spanish Empire. Additional influences came from French, Italian, Portuguese, and other Mediterranean cuisines, which introduced new ingredients and techniques. Early European settlers also contributed with their bed and breakfasts and cafés, adding to the culinary landscape. During the American territorial phase, cowboy chuckwagons and Western saloons left their mark, followed by American diner culture along Route 66, Mexican-American cuisine, fast food, and global culinary trends after statehood in 1912.

Despite these diverse influences, New Mexican cuisine developed largely in isolation, preserving its indigenous, Spanish, Mexican, and Latin roots. This has resulted in a cuisine that is distinct from other Latin American cuisines found in the contiguous United States. It stands out for its emphasis on local spices, herbs, flavors, and vegetables, particularly the iconic red and green New Mexico chile peppers, anise (used in ), and (used as a snack or in desserts).

Signature dishes and foods from New Mexico include Native American frybread-style , breakfast burritos, (stacked ), green chile stew, (a thinly sliced variant of jerky), green chile burgers, (a hominy dish), slow-cooked (typically pinto or bolita beans), (a sautéed zucchini and summer squash dish), and (pork marinated in red chile).

History

thumb|Traditional outdoor oven

Prior to the establishment of New Mexico's current boundaries, Santa Fe de Nuevo México's land claim encompassed the Pueblo peoples and also oversaw the land of the Chiricahua, Comanche, Mescalero, and Navajo.

The Spaniards brought their cuisine, which mingled with the indigenous. They introduced wheat, rice, beef, mutton/lamb, among other foods and flavors, to the native corn, chile, beans, squash, and other indigenous ingredients. This distinct history, combined with the local terrain and climate, has resulted in significant differences between the cuisine of New Mexico and somewhat similar styles in Northern Mexico, and other Southwestern US states such as California, Arizona, and Texas.

When New Mexicans refer to chile they are talking about pungent pods, or sauce made from those pods, not the concoction of spices, meat or beans known as Texas . While the chile pod is sometimes spelled chili outside of New Mexico, US Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico made this state's spelling official as chile, by entering it into the Congressional Record.

One of the first authors to publish a cookbook describing traditional New Mexican cuisine was educator and writer Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert, who published Historic Cookery in 1931. Her work helped introduce cooking with chiles to the United States more broadly.

Ingredients

Chile

thumb|Chile ripening from green to red

thumb|New Mexico green chiles New Mexico chile is the defining ingredient of New Mexican food. Chile is New Mexico's largest agricultural crop. Within New Mexico, green chile is also popular in non-New Mexican cuisines including Mexican-style food and American food like cheeseburgers, french fries, bagels, and pizza.

The New Mexico official State Question is "Red or green?" This refers to the choice of red or green chile with an entrée. "Christmas," a relatively new tradition originating in the 1980s, is a request for both (one side covered with green, the other with red). New Mexico red and green chile have such a rich and distinctive flavor that traditional preparations require few additional flavoring ingredients. The essence of New Mexico chile preparation is its simplicity.

The New Mexico green chile is a variety of the chile pepper, Capsicum annuum, and was developed as a recognizable strain in New Mexico by the late nineteenth century. It is available today in several distinct and selectively-cultivated strains called cultivars.

The chile pepper is grown in the state's very high altitude (4,000–8,000 ft) and dry, hot climate. Much like grapes for wine, these growing conditions contribute, along with genetics, to giving New Mexico green chile its distinctive deep green color, texture, and flavor.

The climate of New Mexico tends to increase the capsaicin levels in the chile pod compared to pods grown in other regions. This results in the possibility of hotter varieties. New Mexico green chiles can range from mild to extremely hot.

At harvest time (August through the middle of October) green chile is typically roasted, peeled and frozen for the year ahead. Chile is such a staple in New Mexico that many national restaurant chains offer New Mexico chile at their New Mexico locations. The process of creating the is highly labor-intensive, so in recent decades it has become a predominantly decorative item.

The bulk of New Mexico chile is grown in the Hatch Valley in the south of the state, in and around the village of Hatch. It is also grown along the entire Rio Grande Valley, and Chimayo in the north is also well known for its chile.

Piñon

thumb|Typical New Mexico street scene with a truck (in this case a van) selling nuts

, or nuts, are a traditional food of Native Americans and Hispanos in New Mexico that is harvested from the ubiquitous pine shrub. The state of New Mexico protects the use of the word for use with pine nuts from certain species of indigenous New Mexican pines.

Other ingredients

thumb|Raw blue corn|alt=

Wheat flour tortillas are more prevalent in New Mexico cuisine as a table bread than corn tortillas. However, corn tortillas, corn tortilla chips, and masa are the foundations of many traditional New Mexico dishes, and are sometimes made of blue corn. Common traditional dishes include , , , , and and honey served with the meal.

Corn (maize) remains a staple grain, the yellow sweet corn variety is most common in New Mexico, though white is sometimes used, and blue and red flint corn varieties are used for specialties like and blue-corn tortilla chips. Kernel corn and corn on the cob are frequent side dishes, as in the American South.

Corn is not a frequent component of New Mexico or , and is usually a separate side dish in and of itself.

Anise is common in some desserts, especially the state cookie, the .

Cilantro, a pungent green herb (also called Mexican or Chinese parsley, the seeds of which are known as coriander) used fresh in salsas, and as a topping for virtually any dish; not common in traditional New Mexican cuisine, but one of the defining tastes of Santa Fe style.

Cumin, the quintessential "Mexican food" spice, is used very differently in New Mexican food, usually reserved for spicing ground beef and sometimes other meats for burritos, tacos, and nachos. It is not used to flavor red and green chile sauces. Oregano is a sparingly used but common herb in traditional New Mexican dishes.

The early Spanish Colonies along the Rio Grande River in New Mexico used safflower as a substitute for saffron in traditional recipes. An heirloom variety originating from Corrales, New Mexico, called "Corrales Azafran" is still cultivated and used as a saffron substitute in New Mexican cuisine.

Foods and dishes

thumb|, the [[List of New Mexico state symbols#Foods|state cookie of New Mexico]]

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(meatball soup) – traditionally made with beef broth, ground pork or beef, vegetables and rice. Also known as . is the term for the dish as well as the meatball itself.
Breakfast burrito – a breakfast version of the above, typically including scrambled eggs, potatoes, red or green chile, cheese (usually Cheddar), and sometimes bacon or sausage; originated in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

thumb|A smothered, Christmas-style breakfast burrito from Tia Sophia's diner in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]]

Cactus fries: Prickly pear cactus cut into strips and french-fried or deep fried, and served with dipping sauce.

thumb|right|Cactus fries with a side of prickly pear sauce

: Chopped summer squash () with onions, garlic, yellow corn, green chile, sauteed in oil.
 – a bread-pudding dessert, traditionally made during Lent festivities. is made of toasted bread crumbs or fried slices of or bread, then soaked in a syrup made of melted sugar, or , and cinnamon. It usually contains raisins, and possibly other fruits and nut bits. Finely grated cheese may be added when it's still hot from the oven, so that it melts. Served warm or cold.
 – cubes of pork that have been marinated and slow cooked in red chile sauce, garlic and oregano.
 – whole green chiles stuffed with cheese, dipped in egg batter, and fried. This dish varies from other Mexican-style cuisines in that it uses the New Mexican chile, rather than a poblano pepper.
Chile sauce – sauce made from red or green chiles usually served hot. Green chile is made with chopped, roasted fresh or frozen green chiles, while red chile is made from dried, roasted and pulverized ripe (red) chiles. In the southeast of the state, crayfish tails are also consumed, as in Texas and Louisiana. While the native population made use of freshwater shellfish since prehistoric times, they are not common in modern New Mexico cuisine, though it has adapted various seafood items (e.g., shrimp tacos are common in restaurants).
 – a caramel custard.
 – a small, tightly rolled, fried corn tortilla filled with ground beef, chicken, pork or turkey and served topped with guacamole and sour cream. Compare and . are often served whole in New Mexico, rather than as refried beans ().
(refried beans) – whole cooked beans are fried in bacon fat and mashed until they turn into a thick paste. Also known as simply and often served with a topping of cheese.</p>
Green chile cheeseburger – widely considered the New-Mexican variety of cheeseburger, it is a regular hamburger topped with melted cheese and either whole or chopped green chile. The flavor is very distinctively New Mexican when compared to other types of hamburgers, and is even offered in the region by major fast food chains.
Green chile cheese fries – a New Mexican variant to traditional cheese fries, fries served smothered with green chile sauce and topped with cheese.
Green chile stew – similar to with the use of green chile. Standard ingredients are coarsely-chopped green chile, ground or cubed beef, ground or cubed pork, potato, diced tomato, onion, garlic, and chicken or beef stock.
Frybread – a traditional thick flatbread of deep-fried dough, developed by the Navajo people after the "Long Walk", when they were forcibly relocated to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico. Served as a snack with honey or for making Navajo tacos. The New Mexico is a variant of this.
 – the traditional New Mexico version is avocados smashed or blended with a very small amount of the following: finely chopped onion, tomato, garlic, salt and lemon juice. Wild lamb's quarters were the original leafy green for this dish, but now it is extremely rare to find made with them.
 – a grilled cheese sandwich of sorts in which two flour tortillas, or one folded, are used instead of bread. It is often lightly oiled and toasted on a griddle to melt the cheese, then served with either , , chile, , and sour cream, as an appetizer or entrée.thumb|
(or ) – a puffed fried quick bread with a flavor similar to Indian fry bread. The New Mexico version is very large. It serves as a standard table bread at New Mexican restaurants with a squeeze bottle of honey or honey butter. Before the Great Depression in the 1930s, they were served with jelly or jam, and honey was used as a substitute; from then on, it became the traditional accompaniment. They can also become an entrée by stuffing them with savory ingredients such as ground beef, shredded chicken, and refried beans. Local soft drink companies produce unique flavors inspired by native ingredients like piñon, yucca root, prickly pear, red chile, watermelon (referencing Spanish translation for the Sandia Mountains, Sandía means watermelon in Spanish), crafting varieties such as piñon-flavored cola, sandía soda with watermelon and mint, yucca-flavored root beer, and red chile-flavored ginger ale.
Chocolate Elixirs are unique drink to New Mexico, served as either chocolate milk and hot cocoa. With flavorings such as fruit, nuts, tea, coffee, etc. The drinks are inspired by the blend of honey sweetened beverages the Ancient Puebloans would make, from the xocoatl they would trade from the Aztecs. The Spanish opening up numerous trade routes expanded the flavorings incorporated into such drinks, for example the Southwest's unique New Mexico chile, Navajo cota tea, or Mormon herbal teas. Today the chocolate elixirs are made in local cafes.
Coffee in New Mexico is often brewed strong in the style of traditional cowboy coffee. Local roasters frequently add regional touches, such as piñon flavoring or spices used in biscochitos, like cinnamon and anise. Companies such as New Mexico Piñon Coffee and Rio Grande Roasters distribute these flavors nationally, and the local New Mexico Piñon Coffee House chain is having a growing presence in the region.
Merienda is a part of local hospitality scene, and gave rise to a regional British-style tea time with curated tea paired with traditional tea snacks and local additions like biscochitos and pastelitos.
There is list of breweries in New Mexico producing craft beers and local pub fair. The state's craft beer has received national and international awards. One of North America's only native hops is the neomexicanus hop, a variety increasingly used in local brews.
The margarita is a popular cocktail in New Mexico. Santa Fe's Margarita Trail features over 50 unique takes on the drink across local bars and restaurants. Local pub fair include blue corn fried pickles, red chile chicken wings, and fried green chile strips.
New Mexico wine is home to the oldest wine grape tradition within American wine. Producers like Gruet Winery use the traditional méthode champenoise to craft sparkling wines, which have gained national acclaim.

Restaurants and grocers

There have been several restaurants and restaurant chains serving New Mexican cuisine within New Mexico.

Outside the Southwestern United States, New Mexican cuisine can be found in restaurants, and several brands produce New Mexican products for grocery stores on a national scale.

In the Washington, D.C. area, the restaurant chain Anita's New Mexico Style was founded by the family of Anita Tallez of Little Anita's. Big Tent Revival and Little Big Town bassist Steve Dale started Sopapilla's in Franklin, Tennessee. The cuisine also has an international presence, such as Mesilla Kitchen in Okinawa, Japan.

Restaurants like Sadie's, El Pinto, and Garcia's distribute salsas nationally, while brands such as Bueno Foods, Cibolo Junction, Los Chileros, and 505 Southwestern offer ready-packed chile and other products. New Mexican-style tortillas are distributed nationally by Bueno Foods brand Grandma's and Gruma's Albuquerque Tortilla Company. Other brands, like Creamland, produce green chile dip locally and distribute it to neighboring states.