Skip to main content

The iceberg tomato disgrace

I've been talking to local New Mexico chefs and restaurant owners lately about the possibility of buying their veggies from local farmers.

I've been surprised how many say "You know, we really don't serve produce in our restaurant." And then they'll add, "except for some lettuce and tomatoes." This last referring to the habitual garnish for many Mexican restaurant platters.

Sadly, many of our local restaurants don't serve any veggie side dishes with their meals, but that will be a rant for another day.

Today, I want to talk about "some lettuce and tomatoes." This is an afterthought for many local chefs because it is the ubiquitous and only semi-edible garnish that goes with burritos, enchiladas, tacos etc in many Mexican and New Mexican restaurants. It is a pile of shredded iceberg lettuce with a few scattered cubes of diced tomato added. It is typically not dressed or seasoned, it is just there on your plate like some tiny, half-completed salad. Iceberg lettuce is not great lettuce, the tomatoes are typically generic supermarket produce, and the result is generally somewhere between bad and worse.

If you are a local chef given to the habitual iceberg-tomato garnish, I am calling you out, right here, right now. Are you proud of what you cook? Then why insult your own cooking with the iceberg-tomato pile? Why not show a little creativity with your garnishes?

Howzabout -

Jicama cubes, diced red bell peppers, and cilantro with a lime dressing?

Corn, onion, black bean and red bell pepper relish?

Spicy shredded carrot relish?

Coleslaw estilo Mexicano, with green chiles and oregano?

Even a decent pico de gallo?


This is just off the top of my head - there have to be dozens of ways to do better than the iceberg-tomato disgrace.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chicos and Beans!

Chicos and Beans, Ese! They go together like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. But what ARE they, and why are they so good? Chicos are as far as I know an ingredient peculiar to northeastern New Mexico. Chicos are sweet corn which is roasted in an outdoor wood-fired adobe oven called an Horno (pronounced or-no, as rhyming with “porno,” but don't make that association with the older generation.) The result is that the corn is preserved, but it keeps its sweetness and the sugars in the corn are caramelized, resulting in a wonderful, distinctive flavor. It is best to buy them from someone who has roasted them, as one never really knows how old the ones in the stores may be. Just like beans, if they are more than a year old, you have to cook them forever to make them tender. The classic winter repast of chicos and beans is about the sweetness of the ingredients and how they harmonize with each other. The chicos provide the sweetness of roasted corn, the smoked ham hocks provide the swe...
3 comments
Read more

Oregano de la Sierra

One of the culinary herbs peculiar to this region is Oregano de la Sierra. It is used in place of oregano in the local cuisine. It is not oregano. The latin name for this plant is Monarda Menthefolium, and it is a variety of bee balm. It does have a flavor reminiscent of oregano with a bit of mint. It is a beautiful plant. It is normally foraged in the mountainous areas, hence its name, which translates as "oregano of the mountains."Those who enjoy word play will note that the word "oregano" itself derives from the Greek "ganos" meaning brightness or ornament, and "oros" meaning mountains. So cross-culturally, "oregano de la sierra" means "ornament of the mountains of the mountains." The photo at right is of oregano de la sierra growing in my back yard. It is drought-hardy and likes filtered shade. As you may guess, being a bee balm, bees love it, so it doesn't just feed you, it feeds our little friends as well. If you wan...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jalapeño Cranberry relish

One of Thanksgiving's culinary clichés is cranberry relish. Often, it is plopped on a plate straight from the can, a gelatinous, quivering cylinder. In such form, it really doesn't add distinction to the holiday table. A pity, because you can take cranberry relish in some interesting directions. Southwestern-style cranberry relish can add a New Mexico flourish to your Thanksgiving dinner, and provide a welcome relief from the predictable and ordinary cranberry cylinder. Southwest Cranberry Relish 1 12oz package fresh cranberries 2 key limes (or 1 large lime) 2 jalapenos or more to taste ¼ cup chopped cilantro with stems ½ to ¾ cup sugar, to taste Chop key limes and add to blender or food processor with ½ cup sugar. Pulse until finely chopped and put in bowl. Put cranberries in food processor or blender and pulse until chopped. You do want some texture, so don't puree them. Chop the jalapenos finely. As jalapenos vary widely in heat, I recommend taking a tiny nip ...
Post a Comment
Read more