The food scene in New Mexico is awesome. We have enjoyed many good meals during our stay in Albuquerque. New Mexican cuisine borrows heavily from Mexican food, but there are several items we have found that are unique to New Mexico.
The sopapilla is an unassuming fried bread that is part pita, part donut. It puffs up when cooked so can be filled. It is used to make both savory and sweet dishes.
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| Sopapilla |
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| Inside a sopapilla |
Carne Adovada is pork, slow roasted in a red chili sauce. It is not terribly spicy but is definitely delicious.
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| New Mexican breakfast of potatoes with Carne Adovada and a fried egg. |
Hatch Chiles are a staple of New Mexican food. We had been to Hatch our first time through NM (https://wallihan.blogspot.com/2025/02/hatch.html). The chiles are green when they are picked and turn red as the dry out. In NM you will be asked if you want red or green, meaning which chile sauce you prefer. Green is spicier than red, but they are both tasty. If you can't decide you can ask for "Christmas" and you will get a mix of red and green.
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| Red and green chile sauces |
Which brings me to what may be the ultimate New Mexican dish. Take a Sopapilla, stuff it with carne adovada and smother it with chile sauce and cheese. This is a uniquely New Mexican dish and is quite delicious.
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| Sopapilla stuffed with carne adovada and smothered in green chile sauce and cheese. |
For dessert you can enjoy a biscochito, a cinnamon dusted sugar cookie. Flaky, buttery and slightly sweet. If you like cookies (I do) you'll like these cookies.
And for a nightcap Ponderosa Whiskey is a good New Mexican whiskey.
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| Biscochitos and whiskey. A classic dessert. |
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