Sense of Place: Southwestern Flavors and Ingredients

Take a good helping of South American and Mexican cuisines and add in a splash of old-world Spanish ingredients. Blend with a healthy dose of Native American fare and sprinkle on some frontier trail food. Now give it all a good stir, and that's the Southwest.

What does Southwestern food mean to you?!

We talked about Latin American flavors and ingredients a few weeks ago, but as we move through the regional cuisines of the United States, we felt that the Southwest deserved a little special time in the spotlight. Like so many regions that we've already explored, Southwestern cuisine is somehow more than the sum of its parts.

Spices:
Cumin
Coriander
Cilantro
Cinnamon
Chili Powder
Oregano

Fruits and Vegetables:
Corn--fresh, dried, and ground
Onion
Garlic
Tomato
Tomatillos
Jicama
Squash
Nopales/Cactus Leaves
Fresh Chile Peppers--Jalapeno, Serrano, Poblano, Anaheim, Habanero
Dried Chile Peppers--Chipotle, Ancho
Sweet Peppers
Plantain
Sweet Potatoes
Lime

Meat and Starches:
Pork
Beef
Chicken
Rice--white and brown
Beans--especially Pinto Beans

Extras:
Pepitas/Pumpkin Seeds
Pine Nuts
Almonds
Chocolate
Cheese--Monterey Jack, Queso Fresco, Queso Blanco
Honey

What else would you to add to this list?

(Images: Flickr members mapper-montag, Benny Yap, and r-z licensed under Creative Commons)

Comments (4)

Can't wait to see what you write for California and the Pac NW!

Prickly pears (also known as "tunas") are great for salads, ice creams, candy, jams, or cocktails.

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007220how_to_cut_and_prepare_prickly_pears.php

As a good New Mexican I have to say that Hatch green chile, while technically an Anaheim, is in reality an entirely different beast. A very delicious one.

How I wish I still lived there and could buy them fresh roasted on the way home from work!

Tepary beans, specifically! They're native here and actually do best in drought conditions, so they don't suck up a lot of water like many of our imported crops. I've used them in everything from pork and bean stew to hummus. A lot of herbs really thrive here once established, needing little water--rosemary, sage, and lavendar, and even mint if planted in morning sun.