If you have not been to Santa Fe, New Mexico, then you need to find a way. Anytime of year there is wonderful. It’s postcard perfect. There is a spectacular famers’ market, charming streets for window shopping and restaurants that are unbelievable.
Summer nights are hot but humid free with sunsets that just make you want to sit back drink more. A winter night is cold, but the smell of burning pinon pine fills the air. There are no bad days or nights in Santa Fe.
Remember the movie Ben Hur? The novel was written by the American general governing the New Mexico Territory while he lived in Santa Fe. Whether it is stories or art or food, Santa Fe inspires. It’s foremost a place to walk, to let your eyes lead you down unplanned pathways. If can’t unwind in Santa Fe, you need deep pharmaceutical intervention.
Brian and I have a favorite restaurant, around the corner and down the hill from the town square. Café Pasqual is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It serves New Mexican cuisine. It’s not Mexican, not Tex-Mex, and not Southwestern. It’s New Mexican. If you want to learn about chiles, go to Santa Fe. If you want the best place in Santa Fe, go to Pasqual’s.
Every meal has to have salsa. Even breakfast calls for salsa with those fresh eggs. Here is their superior idea for tomatillo salsa.
Pasqual’s Tomatillo Salsa
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients:
10 large tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1-2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed and halved
¼ white onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic
20 sprigs cilantro, including stems
1-2 chiles de arbol, stemmed
2 cups lightly packed spinach leaves
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
Preparation:
Put all the ingredients into a blender. Whirl until liquefied. Taste for heat and add more chiles if desired. Transfer to a serving bowl.
Source: Cooking with Café Pasqual’s