Chimayó Cuisine
Chile Ristras
Traditional Way to Dry Red Chile
Foods of Chimayó
Chimayó authentic food and Northern New Mexico cuisine are based on the chile pepper, which appears in time-tested recipes handed down by word of mouth from one generation to the next. Chile has been a staple Chimayó crop for centuries, as well as a major trade good in generations past. Today the small, crooked heirloom Chimayó chile pepper, which has a mild but robust flavor, is on the brink of extinction, although an agricultural growing project is working to revive the strain by encouraging local farmers to plant and preserve it.
Farmer in Chimayó Chile Field
Cultivating Heirloom Chimayó Chile
History
Chimayó's early growing methods relied on directing river water to small fields via acequias, a linked system of water ditches that in some areas of New Mexico predate the arrival of the Spaniards. Today, this same traditional method brings water to the fields for the short growing season of about 150 days. Local agriculture centers on the “three sisters” that were grown together on indigenous New Mexico farms—squash, beans and corn—as well as garlic and onions, and wild greens called quelites or lamb's quarters.
Chile Relleno
Red or Green or Christmas