Freshly roasted green chilis are delicious and should not be missed.
The Spaniards notably brought their cuisine to the region including rice, wheat, lamb, and especially beef. The Indians taught the Spanish conquerors about corn and all the ways to prepare it (roasted, pudding, stewed, cornbread, cornmeal, posole, etc.) as well as introducing them to chile peppers, a crop indigenous to the New World. The climate and palates of the peoples determined what grew, what didn’t, what they liked to eat, what they did not. Perhaps only New Orleans has seen such a food fusion of cultures while embracing culinary traditions. So the region has had wave after wave of newcomers who have introduced their culinary elements to the existing gastronomy.
The staple ingredients in New Mexican cuisine include chiles, corn, and beans; these are all grown locally. Other common ingredients include cheese, tortillas, onions, beef, chicken, and pork. Some tools any northern New Mexican cook might use include a mortar and pestle (small bowl that is used to grind ingredients like garlic, chiles, seeds, pepper, cloves, fresh herbs, and avocado), a micaceous clay pot (to cook and serve soups, beans, etc.) and a comal (to make and warm tortillas). You might see that rice, a staple of Tex-Mex, is not often on the menu in restaurants; that’s because corn (or hominy) is the starch of choice.
Cheese-stuffed, battered, and fried chili rellenos.
Did you know that chile and frijoles are the official state vegetables of New Mexico? Green chile cheeseburgers are a common and basic Northern New Mexican staple comfort food. It’s as simple as topping a burger with roasted, chopped New Mexican green chile and cheese. You can get this burger at any burger joint and most restaurants.
Don’t come to northern New Mexico and eat at the same fast food place you have in your home city. Try something new, something local, something you haven’t tried before. The food can be hot to taste from different peppers or chiles or ingredients because such is the nature of food from this state, so check on your menu if there is a hot warning or ask your server. Treat yourself with a sopaipilla with honey and butter. Sopaipillas are so amazing; you can eat a stuffed one with meat and chile on it for your meal too. Oh, the region has great and underrated wines, so make sure to try a bottle or two.
Discover the Regional Food
You’re a newbie to New Mexican food and get seated in a restaurant. Now what? If you are not familiar with New Mexican food, the menu may be confusing. Here are some explanations of the terms you are reading:
Biscochitos or Bizcochitos: A crispy butter cookie flavored with cinnamon and anise that is the state cookie of New Mexico. Served every December, it’s a holiday tradition for northern New Mexico. The dough is rolled and traditionally cut into the shape of stars and crescent moons.
Buñuelos: Deep-fried fritter popular around Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Calabacitas: Sautéed dish consisting of squash, zucchini, onions, and sometimes other items like chile or corn.
Carne Adovada: Usually this tasty dish is long-simmered pork chunks in a red chile stew.
Carne Asada: Marinated beef, grilled and sliced thin.
Carnitas: Braised, simmered, or roasted pork, usually shredded and served in little pieces (which is what carnitas means).
Chile Relleno: Usually mild chile pepper stuffed with cheese, meat, or both; served fried or naked.
Chimichanga: Deep-fried burrito usually covered in chile.
Chorizo: Spicy pork sausage heavily flavored with red chile, garlic, peppers, and other ingredients.
Flan: Sweetened egg custard dessert with a caramel topping.
Green Chile Stew: A stew made with green chiles and potatoes. Usually served with chopped or shredded pork in it and often topped with sour cream.
Green chili stew with pork.
Green or red? You’ll hear locals respond to that question with “Christmas,” meaning they’ll take both red and green chile on their food. Each restaurant café makes its chile differently, so when you ask which is hotter, well, it just depends. You can always ask for it on the side to decide for yourself. What a local might think is mild just might make you cough and burn your throat.
Guacamole/Avocado: Great for chip dipping, avocado is a buttery, light-green, oily-flesh fruit that is obviously sent from the gods. Have them make you tableside guacamole, a dip made from avocados. We take avocados as part of our backpacking trips or streamside picnics, a snack good all by itself.
Ordering Christmas to taste both red and green chili.
Helado Frito: Fried ice cream. We know, right—how can you fry ice cream? Don’t worry about how, just order it and enjoy the unique texture and rich flavors.
Huevos Rancheros: Hearty breakfast of fried or poached eggs on top of stacked tortillas or a fried corn tortilla with a sauce, usually served with refried beans.
Indian Fry Bread: Thin, fried dough paired with either savory (beans, lettuce, meat) or sweet (honey or powdered sugar) tastes.
Michelada: There are numerous variations on this drink, but it’s basically a cold beer prepared with lime juice, tomato juice, hot sauces, spices, and peppers served in a salt-rimmed chilled glass.
Migas: Pronounced MEE-gus or MEE-guz, migas recipes vary but the most common is a combination of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, peppers, onions, cheese, and crumbled corn tortilla strips.
Pico de Gallo: A chilled adornment to your meal made from chopped tomato, onion, cilantro, pepper (usually serrano but also jalapeño), salt, lime juice, and sometimes other ingredients. The words translate to “beak of the rooster.”
Piñon coffee: Coffee flavored with piñon. Try it. The taste is amazing, smooth, and nutty. By the way, coffeehouse culture is alive and well here in northern New Mexico, so if you need to get your espresso fix or order a decaf soy latte with an extra shot and cream, or some other fancy coffee drink, they’ve got you covered.
Migas, a hearty New Mexican breakfast.
Poblano: A mild, dark green pepper, used in recipes or served stuffed with cheese or meat.
Posole: Thick soup or stew with pork (sometimes chicken, sometimes no meat) and hominy, garlic, and chile. Great for cold days. Often served as a side.
Tamales: Usually served with a main dish but can be its own main meal. Steamed masa dough rolled with meat (pork or ground meat or sometimes beans) and crushed peppers, wrapped in cornhusks.
Tres Leches: Also called pan tres leches, meaning “three milks bread.” This is a sponge cake soaked and flavored in evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream.