When most people think of vegetables and side dishes in New Mexican cooking, they think about pinto beans and rice, and maybe a garnish of chopped lettuce and tomatoes.
Authentic New Mexican cooking offers more than a bit of chopped up salad.
Spinach is a wonderful spring tonic because it grows early, before the soil warms up, and more tender plants are still endangered by the Southwest's late freezes. Because of its hardiness, spinach is a needed dose of fresh greens after the long, hard winter.
I recently went to The Church Street Cafe, a wonderful restaurant tucked into a side street behind San Felipe Church in Albuquerque's Old Town. The cafe is in Casa de Ruiz, on property that has been in the Ruiz family since Albuquerque's founding in 1706. If you want an historical New Mexican experience, you can't get much more authentic than the food here, which includes quelites, Spanish for spinach, calabacitas, a wonderful medley of summer squash and corn, and old fashioned chili rellenos, which I've had in private homes but haven't seen offered in any other restaurant.
When my novel set in New Mexico during the Civil War comes out, I plan to also offer a small cookbook with recipes from the period. The cookbook will have New Mexican recipes, plus some from the Gettysburg area to tie in with The Bent Reed. This one will be in that cookbook, but I'm offering it to you now, when we could all use a touch of spring tonic. Espero que te guste.
QUELITES (New Mexican Spinach)
Yield: 4-6 servings
Cooking Time: Approximately 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds washed fresh spinach
1/4 teaspoon chile flakes (the kind you sprinkle on pizza)
1 tablespoon shortening
3 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tsp salt
2 slices of bacon
Directions:
1. Wash spinach and remove stem ends.
2. Place spinach in a medium-sized saucepan and steam for 10 minutes at medium heat.
3. Drain and chop spinach. Set aside.
4. Sauté onion and bacon in a medium-sized saucepan at medium heat. Add spinach and remaining ingredients to onion, bacon and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with chile flakes.
Authentic New Mexican cooking offers more than a bit of chopped up salad.
Spinach is a wonderful spring tonic because it grows early, before the soil warms up, and more tender plants are still endangered by the Southwest's late freezes. Because of its hardiness, spinach is a needed dose of fresh greens after the long, hard winter.
I recently went to The Church Street Cafe, a wonderful restaurant tucked into a side street behind San Felipe Church in Albuquerque's Old Town. The cafe is in Casa de Ruiz, on property that has been in the Ruiz family since Albuquerque's founding in 1706. If you want an historical New Mexican experience, you can't get much more authentic than the food here, which includes quelites, Spanish for spinach, calabacitas, a wonderful medley of summer squash and corn, and old fashioned chili rellenos, which I've had in private homes but haven't seen offered in any other restaurant.
When my novel set in New Mexico during the Civil War comes out, I plan to also offer a small cookbook with recipes from the period. The cookbook will have New Mexican recipes, plus some from the Gettysburg area to tie in with The Bent Reed. This one will be in that cookbook, but I'm offering it to you now, when we could all use a touch of spring tonic. Espero que te guste.
QUELITES (New Mexican Spinach)
Yield: 4-6 servings
Cooking Time: Approximately 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds washed fresh spinach
1/4 teaspoon chile flakes (the kind you sprinkle on pizza)
1 tablespoon shortening
3 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tsp salt
2 slices of bacon
Directions:
1. Wash spinach and remove stem ends.
2. Place spinach in a medium-sized saucepan and steam for 10 minutes at medium heat.
3. Drain and chop spinach. Set aside.
4. Sauté onion and bacon in a medium-sized saucepan at medium heat. Add spinach and remaining ingredients to onion, bacon and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with chile flakes.
