Weird regional foods

New Mexican Huevos Rancheros...



This is from Perea's Tijuana Bar up the street from my house...

It's usually multiple corn tortillas (some restaurants use a large flour tortilla) topped with beans, potatoes, and fried eggs and then smothered in NM chiles...in this case it's red chile and green chile which we just say, "I'll have it Christmas" when we order. It is then loaded with cheese. It is typically a breakfast item, but many local restaurants serve it all day. Most restaurants will have a heat sheet posted as to which chile is hotter that day.

Hatch NM chile is a uniquely New Mexican thing though we're exporting it now more to bordering states...but it's grown in NM and nowhere else. The chiles are similar to anaheim chiles...red chiles are just green chiles that are picked later after they've turned red. Red chiles are typically dried and the pods can be used to make the chile sauce, or they're ground into powder. Green chiles are typically kept fresh and then roasted in large roasters.



Red chiles have a very earthy undertone with the spice while roasted green chiles have a sweeter undertone. While both chiles are available anywhere in the state at any New Mexican restaurant (and many other restaurants...we put that *kitten* on everything), green chile seems to be preferred in the southern part of the state while the northern part of the state seems to prefer red.

For myself, my chile selection has more to do with the particular food than anything...I like red chile on my huevos and carne adovado (a pork stew)...green with anything beef or chicken or burgers, etc. Green chile stew is also excellent...red chile is typically used in posole which is a big holiday time traditional stew and is often served on Christmas Eve open houses where friends and family come and go as they please.

Also, many if not most New Mexicans purchase our own stash of chile for personal home use...late August through early October, you can see and smell chiles roasting everywhere...