Top 5 Native New Mexican Foods

By: Seth Smith

When you travel somewhere new you are usually rewarded with all kinds of new sensory experiences. You’re seeing new sights, hearing unfamiliar sounds, and my favorite of all, tasting new and delicious foods! Living at home it’s easy to get stuck in the routine of cooking the same few meals month after month, or even week after week. When you are traveling though, it’s all about stepping out of your comfort zone and experiencing something new! Here in New Mexico, we have five unique dishes that are sure to leave your taste buds smiling and wanting more.

Red Chile: A very common chile used on all kinds of New Mexican dishes such as burritos, eggs, and enchiladas. It is simple yet delicious made out of dried red chile pods, water, onion, garlic, and seasonings, giving it a nice earthy flavor profile. This is something you don’t want to miss out on!

Green Chile: This chile is the cousin of the previous red chile that we mentioned. Green chile is made with; you guessed it, green chiles, tomatillos, onions, garlic, water, and spices. Typically jalapenos are one variety of green chiles that go into this chile, making it a little spicier than red chile.

Carne Adovada: This is New Mexico’s take on Adovada. It is pork that is slow cooked in red chile giving it a tremendous amount of flavor. Carne Adovada is typically served with bean, rice, and tortillas.

Posole: Posole is an ingredient and also a stew. The ingredient is corn that is boiled and soaked in limewater, this is a type of posole is also known as hominy. Posole stew is typically a combination of pork, hominy, and either red or green chile. My mouth is watering just thinking about this!

Calabacitas: Calabacitas, which means little squash in Spanish, is a combination of squash, corn, and green chiles. One of the most simple yet absolutely delicious veggie dishes that New Mexico is known for.

All right, if I just read about all these tasty foods I would be wondering, where can I go to try some of this after a day of white water rafting? Well, if you were going to be near Taos, I would recommend checking out Michaels Kitchen Restaurant and Bakery, as well as Orlando’s New Mexican Café. On the other hand, if you were headed back down to Santa Fe I would say to visit, Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen, The Shed or La Choza.   Maybe you are heading back the airport in Albuquerque and need some food before that full day of travel that lies ahead, don’t worry there are plenty of spots down there as well! Make sure you swing by either Mary and Tito’s Café or Frontier Restaurant. Wow, after writing this my stomach is grumbling, time to go get some New Mexican food!