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What is New Mexican food? Posolé? Blue corn chicken enchiladas? Chimayó chile rubbed rack of lamb with corn and wild mushroom ragout? Or all of the above? If you answered “all of the above,” you are correct. New Mexican food means more than burritos smothered in fiery salsa. Don’t get me wrong: I love fiery salsa, but burritos only scratch the surface of New Mexican food. What makes the food here so special are the regionally specific ingredients. Certain ingredients are available only here. Our varieties of corn, beans, squash and, of course, chile are found no place else. There may be enchiladas on menus in Big Apple, but they will never be New Mexican food. I can illustrate this with a wine-grape metaphor. If we were to discuss wine grapes, most people seem to understand that grapes grown in France are different from grapes grown in California — not necessarily better or worse, but different. Likewise, every ear of corn, every lamb, and every chile pepper is influenced by the little piece of the world on which they were raised. You cannot make Champagne in California; you can make lovely sparkling wine, but it will never be Champagne. And you cannot make New Mexican food without the ingredients of the state.
The New Mexican corn, beans, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, and chiles are indigenous to this region and exclusively to the Americas. There were no tomatoes in Italy, potatoes in Ireland or Russia, or chile peppers of any kind anywhere on Earth until the Spanish discovered them in Nuevo España (New Spain, a.k.a. The New World) and brought them back to Europe. Try to imagine an Italian restaurant without a tomato on the menu — or gnocchi (potato), polenta (corn), zucchini (squash), fajole (beans) or sweet peppers (chile). What about a chile pepper-free Thai restaurant? Southeast Asians really took to the chile pepper.
For thousands of years, people not dissimilar to us lived here in the Río Grande Valley in permanent dwellings, irrigating fields and cultivating specific crops to feed their populations. They didn’t write down recipes for their dishes, but we have some clues that give us insight into the area’s original foods. One obvious clue: the large grinding stones used to turn dried corn into meal. If you get cornmeal wet and then very hot, it becomes a tortilla. The tortilla is recognized as one of the world’s oldest prepared food, second only to Meat On A Stick. Once you have a tortilla, it hardly took a food genius to invent the taco or the enchilada. These configurations appeared throughout the Americas.
When the Spanish arrived in the Rio Grande Valley and founded La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Assisi in 1541 — Santa Fe’s full name — they brought many of their comforts from home: apples, stone fruits, wheat, grapes, cattle, pigs, sheep, and Catholicism. The cultures became fused in many ways, one of which was the cuisine. European configurations made with indigenous products and meals embracing European ingredients appeared — the New World’s first fusion cuisine.
Before 1822, if you were anywhere in Nuevo España (which encompassed most of the Americas), you were native or a Spanish subject. There were no Dutch colonies or French enclaves. With Mexico’s independence from Spain came a desire to trade with the newly formed United States and the creation of the Santa Fe Trail. This brought the final piece of the cultural trinity: Anglo-European settlers and their influence.
Today, Santa Fe boasts more restaurants per capita than any other U.S. city. From expensive fine dining to a Plaza food stall, our city’s chefs embrace the special qualities of the region. New Mexico is the only state with an official state question: Red or green? What it means is, “what kind of New Mexican chile sauce would you like on your enchilada, burrito, steak and potato, or eggs Benedict?” There are three appropriate responses to the red-or-green question: red, green, or Christmas (half red, half green).
Outside New Mexico are restaurants with names like the Rio Grande Bar and Grille and the Santa Fe Café. These might be inspired by the foods of this region, but the only place to find authentic New Mexican food, traditional or contemporary, is right here in our state. While visiting New Mexico, approach each meal with an adventurous spirit and an open mind. When you return to your own corner of the world, you will share stories of friendly people, beautiful weather, and delicious foods. ¡Buen Provecho!
Rocky Durham is a native New Mexican and culinary director for the Santa Fe School of Cooking. He helped open and served as executive chef of Santa Fe restaurant in London and hosted culinary television shows in Great Britain. His food column, “Plates Across the States,” is syndicated internationally.
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