Southwestern Cruisine Is As Much Fun To Eat As It Is To Look At

The Importance Of Spice And Color In Southwest Cuisine

You probably recognize southwest cuisine first by the bold flavors and colorful flair. Each dish is created with a unique blend of spices and other special ingredients that set it far apart from any other type of cuisine.  The amount of time, pride, and imagination that goes into making each dish ensures a meal that is not only a treat for your taste buds, but also a feast for the eyes.  Let's take a look at what's involved in creating this sensory sensation.

Spices

The liveliness you experience in southwest cuisine is due in part to the ingredients used for flavor and color; namely, the spices.  This cuisine depends on the use of chili powder, cumin, and cayenne.  Chili powder will not only give the meal that bold flavor, but its brilliant red coloring makes the meal more enticing and pleasing to the eye.  Cumin is used for its distinctive smoky, nutty, warm, and peppery flavor.  Not exactly a 'hot' spice, cumin offers a depth of flavor that is hard to describe.  But, if it's missing from a recipe, you will know it and mourn the loss.  Cayenne is often added to infuse more heat in a dish, but it also offers flavor and a pretty speckling of color, especially when using the flakes rather than the powder.  But, only add cayenne pepper flakes when you enjoy biting into a tiny bit of pepper that sets your mouth on fire.

Herbs

The use of herbs is equally important as the use of spices in southwest cuisine.   Coriander, basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary are all herbs you will recognize in many dishes offered in this region.  If you buy a jar of seasoning labeled  'Mexican Herb Seasoning' you will most likely see this combination.  Fresh cilantro is often used, as well, and even though it is the plant that coriander seeds comes from, the flavor of the plant, cilantro, differs greatly from the flavors of the seed, coriander.  They are not interchangeable in recipes.  You'll have to watch recipes carefully if they call for cilantro seeds they really mean coriander seeds, and if the recipe calls for fresh coriander, they mean cilantro.  Remember that adding fresh herbs late in the cooking time maintains the bright color and flavor, so be sure to keep that in mind when using fresh herbs versus using dried herbs.

Chiles

You don't have to search for exotic ingredients when cooking southwest cuisine.  As a matter of fact, many great chefs urge us to keep it simple and use good basic ingredients to keep the integrity of the dish.  Basics like red chiles and green chiles are important staples in many dishes known around the southwest.  Green chiles are used to make fresh salsas and salads, while red chilies are often dried and used in many hearty slow cooked soups, stews, and sauces.  Not only do these basic ingredients add spice and flavor to a dish, but the color and aroma is a party waiting to happen.

When you serve southwest cuisine to your family and friends, the aroma, flavor, and color practically jumps off the plate.  There is nothing bashful about this style of cooking.  Mild, medium, hot, or super hot, it doesn't really matter.  The idea is to make a statement;  “This food is as much fun to eat as it is to look at!”