Most do not know the important role New Mexico has played
in culinary history. Researchers and archeologists agree
that New Mexico was one of the earliest settlements of the
Mongolians and Tibetans when they came over the Bering
strait to settle the Americas. The area has attracted
visitors from before recorded history, who in turn created
the pure, often spicy flavors known in New Mexico's foods.
Primarily chiles are both king and queen. Chiles
themselves have been more developed in New Mexico than
anywhere—especially since World War II, when Dr. Jim
Nakiyami, a Professor at New Mexico State University gave
his leadership to developing many, many new varieties of
chiles.
And, most do not know that the first American wines were
made in New Mexico. The priests, Jesuits and Monks
brought the first cuttings of grapes here in the 1620's
from Spain, thus predating the California wine industry by
140 years.
With Prohibition in the 1920's the wine making died out,
not to get started again until 50 years later in the late
1970's. Now there are over 50 wine makers throughout the
state making world class, award winning wines. The wines
go very well with the chile laden traditional dishes as
well as any kind of food or enjoyed alone. New Mexico is
often credited with being the fountainhead of the Mexican
taste. For it is there that the earliest settlers from
Asia; who were the root population of the Western areas of
the Americas, first settled and lent their primitive
cooking methods and simple, straight forward ingredients to
create a simple, frontier cuisine that continues to win the
hearts and souls of all who try it.
From New Mexico, the earliest settlers went south to
populate Central and South America, taking their culinary
customs with them. So there are similarities in the native
cuisines of all the Americas.
No matter whether the chiles are the unripe green ones or
the ripe red ones, they both provide the great benefits of
capsaicin which is so amazing as an
antioxidant.—often cited as the world's greatest
anti-oxidant. And anti-oxidants basically are good for us
as an inhibitor of cancer cell development among other
claims.
Chiles enhance your entire body's functions—making
your heart healthier, also your entire vascular system,
enhancing your digestion, your skin and your waistline.
They excite your endorphins more than any other food and on
a scale of "runner's high".
So you gotta try them. Don't let the spiciness or hotness
scare you—the hotter the healthier, however to begin
with start mild and work up to hotter. You will be glad
you did—but get ready, they are habit
forming—nearly an addiction, so you will more than
likely get hooked on the wonderfully exciting flavors.
However, if you do get uncomfortably hot and spicy chiles,
just remember that you can tame them down quickly by eating
or drinking anything sweet, dairy or acid such as lime
juice or wine.
In this simplistic cuisine, created out of less than 10
major ingredients, corn is the real staple with the chiles
being the personality. Beans are very important as are
various members of the gourd and lily families to the
cuisine.
Actually the combination of chiles, corn and beans is
considered one of the three most healthy cuisines in the
world. The other two are Eastern and Western Mediterranean.
Perhaps the New Mexican native's favorite traditional dish
is Red Chile Enchiladas while most visitor's to our state
prefer the Green Chile ones. In New Mexico, when an
enchilada (which by the way means "in chile") is served as
a main course, it is served flat, not rolled.
What most people think of as Mexican food elsewhere in the
world, really is New Mexican food. And now, it is the most
popular taste in America, outselling all other cuisines
nationally. Tortillas outsell bread and margaritas are the
most popular cocktail. Amazing, from such simple roots.
The flavors are purer, simpler and more robust by far in
New Mexico than in Old Mexico, where the European influence
was stronger in the development of their cuisine.
Some popular traditional New Mexican dishes are Carne
Adovado, which was developed originally by the Spanish as a
way to preserve pork after butchering. Red chile being the
world's best anti-oxidant retards spoilage—a hint 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. Amazingly good, if well
prepared.
A truly native dish is posole, the bowl of many
blessings--a dish made from lime (as in agricultural ground
lime) soaked corn kernels. It is stewed with well browned
pork bits, chiles and herbs. It is quite flavorful.
Posole is a reverant 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—their Eve so to
speak.
New Mexico style chile rellenos are another native treat.
They are traditionally stuffed with cheese and crusted with
a meringue or corn crust and fried. They are quite good as
a main dish or side dish.
A truly native ingredient is the blue corn, which was
developed by the Ancients. It is smoked with pinon wood as
they did not have access to agricultural lime for
preserving the corn.
Sopaipillas were first made in 1620 in the courtyard in
front of the San Francisco de Neri church in Old Town
Albuquerque. They were first made as a treat for the
Indians who attended church.
----------------------------------------------------
Jane Butel, the first to write about Southwestern cooking,
has published 18 cookbooks, several being best sellers.
She operates a full-participation weekend and week long
vacation cooking school, an on-line school, a cooking club,
a monthly ezine, a mail-order spice, cookbook, Southwestern
product business and conducts culinary tours and
team-building classes.
http://www.janebutel.com , 1-800-473-8226
