New Mexican Recipes What is the difference between New Mexican and Mexican recipes? "New Mexican food is a type of regional cuisine originating in the U.S. state of New Mexico and in southern Colorado; it is a subset of Mexican-American cuisine. Although many New Mexican dishes are similar to Mexican and Tex-Mex offerings such as enchiladas and burritos, New Mexican food has a distinct style. New Mexico chiles comes in two varieties, referred to as either green chile or red chile depending on the stage of ripeness in which they were picked." "Green chile is perhaps the defining ingredient of New Mexican food compared to neighboring styles, though heavier use of cilantro and relaxed use of cumin are also important. In the past few years, green chile has grown increasingly more common outside of New Mexico, and it is a popular ingredient in everything from enchiladas and burritos to cheeseburgers, bagels, and pizzas within the state's borders." History This native style has been strongly influenced by incoming U.S. tastes since the end of the Mexican-American War. Over time, the style diverged increasingly from similar styles in California and Texas (all of which, like New Mexico, were formerly part of Mexico). This divergence has accelerated in the last few decades, perhaps as a protective response to the "invading" popularity of heavily Americanized "Mexican" food products and fast food. Today, New Mexican cuisine differs from Mexican, Tex-Mex and Mexican-Californian in numerous ways besides chile, including spice balance, ingredients, general definitions of what certain dishes are and how to prepare them, use of sauces and condiments, etc. For example, New Mexican food uses, on average, more beef than Mexican cooking (its beef influence is picked up from Chihuahua, to the south, which also uses more beef than most other areas of Mexico), involves far fewer beans, usually uses a different kind of oregano, and often handles tortillas differently; it does not make use of Tex-Mex style chili con carne (traditional New Mexican cuisine uses no tomato sauce) and uses less cumin and fewer jalapeños than the Texas style, if at all; and it does not make nearly as much use of rice (potatoes are usually used in similar roles), cilantro or mixed vegetables as the California style, nor as much avocado (which is not native to the semi-arid New Mexico region). New Mexican cuisine also stands out from other neighboring cuisines by the influence of the Pueblo Indians, found mainly along the Rio Grande valley. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexican_cuisine List of New Mexico Recipe Terms