Local Flavors

Anne Hillerman’s scoop on Santa Fe recipes

Part cookbook, part dining guide, Santa Fe Flavors: Best Restaurants and Recipes (Gibbs Smith, $10), by longtime Albuquerque Journal North restaurant reviewer Anne Hillerman, helps you recreate popular dishes from your favorite City Different chefs. With almost 50 recipes and recommendations of some of Hillerman’s favorite eateries, the book doubles as an eat-in or dine-out reference for local and visiting foodies alike. We asked the author, a Northern New Mexico native, how she put the book together—and what she loves about our regional cuisine.

With more than 200 restaurants in town, how did you decide which ones to include?
It was tough. In addition to good food, I wanted places that stood out from the crowd by also offering consistency, value for the money, a pleasant environment, and a good overall experience.

Which recipe is your favorite?
That’s like asking a parent which kid they like best! It depends on the mood I’m in.

Did you grow up in a household of good cooks?
My mom, to whom I dedicated the book, is a good cook and a genius at stretching the food budget. She had to feed our family of eight on what my dad [late New Mexico writer Tony Hillerman] brought home as a reporter and, later, a part-time college professor. My dad knew how to fry eggs and open cans—and was smart enough to marry my mom. I’m married to a good cook, too. I guess that runs in the family.

Which recipe do you think most captures the spirit of Santa Fe cuisine?
I think that involves doing something out of the ordinary with food we’d consider ordinary: the lovely traditional ingredients of Northern New Mexican cooking. I love the green-chile tempura from Shoko Café. What a great, light spin on chile rellenos.

I just gotta ask: Red or green?
Red at the Shed and Tomacitas. Green at Tia Sophia’s.

Chile-Mint Agridulce from La Boca restaurant
1⁄2 cup lemon juice
1⁄2 cup honey
1⁄4 cup chopped mint
3 tablespoons chile pequín flakes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Serve with lamb chops or other meat
or fish as desired. Makes one cup.  Source: Santa Fe Flavors