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 its 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
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.
During this early development period, before the , an outdoor beehive-shaped earth oven, became ubiquitous in Pueblo and Hispano communities. 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.
New Mexico's population includes Native Americans who have worked the land for thousands of years, including the farms of the Ancestral Pueblo peoples as well as the modern extant Pueblo, Navajo and Apache. The Hispano explorers included farmers and ranchers as they arrived during the Spanish era in the 16th century, well into the Mexican era which ended in the 19th century.
Americans traded and settled after the Civil War, today groups from Asia and other communities have come to New Mexico.Feske, Esther. License to Cook New Mexico Style, Penfield Press, 1988, p. 5
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
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 a rich and distinctive flavor that causes traditional preparations to 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. An index of vendors of certified New Mexico chile within and outside the state.
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.
New Mexico red chile is simply the fully ripened green chile pepper. As it ripens, it first turns orange and then quickly turns red. As it does so, the skin thickens and fuses to the inner fruit or "meat" of the pepper. This means that, for the red pepper to be enjoyable, it must first be dried and then blended into a puree. The puree can be made using full red chile pods or red chile powder (which is made by finely grinding the dried pod).
The purée is not edible until cooked as red chile sauce. This is made by cooking the puree with garlic, salt – and occasionally oregano – and has the consistency of tomato soup. Discerning native New Mexicans prefer sun-dried over oven-dried red chile, as the oven-drying process gives it a non-traditional smoky flavor and a dark maroon color.
Red chile peppers are traditionally sun-dried in bundles called , which are a common decorative sight on porches and in homes and businesses throughout the Southwest. 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
, 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. The harvest doesn't generally arrive in full force until after New Mexico's first freeze of the winter.
Other ingredients
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
(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. – sweet rice pudding, a traditional Northern New Mexican dessert, primarily popular in traditional homes, and rarely found in restaurants. Rice is generally cooked in milk and water. Then, simmered with sugar and raisins, garnished with cinnamon, and served hot. – a thick, hot gruel made from blue corn meal in New Mexico. – anise-flavored cookie sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, traditionally made with lard. It was developed by residents of New Mexico over the centuries from the first Spanish colonists of what was then known as Santa Fe de Nuevo México. Although may sometimes be found at any time of year, they are a traditional Christmas cookie. – the New Mexico is a white-flour tortilla with fillings of meat, such as pork , chicken, ground or shredded beef, or , refried pinto beans, or both meat and beans, along with red or green chile. 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.
Cactus fries: Prickly pear cactus cut into strips and french-fried or deep fried, and served with dipping sauce.
: Chopped summer squash () with onions, garlic, yellow corn, green chile, sauteed in oil. – a thin, green or red chile stew or soup of meat (usually beef, often pork or a mixture), potatoes, and chiles. Sometimes called , especially as a side dish. Both terms are diminutive forms of the Spanish word, , for soup. – 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.