Quite a few months ago, I took an informal poll on my Facebook page asking my loyal followers what foods, cuisines or techniques they were interested in learning more about. My cousin suggested a comparison of Sonoran and Pacific Northwest foods as she lives in Arizona and enjoys visiting family in Washington State. It's taken me longer than expected to complete this essay but I hope you enjoy it.
The indigenous peoples of Northern Mexico have traditionally been hunter-gathers due to the arid climate and limited water and any agriculture was likewise limited. Wheat, which thrives in warm days and cool nights, was introduced by the Spanish in the mid-1500s and flourished in the state of Sonora, located just south of the Arizona border. Sonora is still a wheat-producing region and flour tortillas are a staple of mealtime. The huge thin flour tortillas used for burritos originated in Sonora and are instantly recognizable as the wraps used by Taco Del Mar.
Other European settlers discovered that cattle, sheep and goats flourished in the region and over time, the ranch culture began to produce fresh cheeses as a way to preserve milk. Because of the desert region, there is a more limited variety of foods than in the southern states and preservation techniques are primarily cheese making (as mentioned above), dehydration and drying (which are not the same thing) and canning. Since preserving foods alters the flavor of the foods,dried chilies are less spicy than fresh and they add depth of flavor and heat to braised dishes and sauces.
As you can see, this very brief overview indicates the range of cultural influences on the cuisine of Arizona and I didn't even discuss the full extent of the Spanish influence on Mexico. Trying to distill all the culinary history of any region into a short essay is difficult so you’re just getting some of the highlights. In short,Arizona is known for Mexican-American food but it comes closer to actual Mexican cuisine than say, Texas does.
Arizona has mild winters which produce beautiful crops of “cold” weather crops such as broccoli, bok choy, carrots, parsnips, onions, and cabbage. Like Washington has apple trees, Arizona has citrus trees; on every street corner and backyard and taken for granted. Lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruit, harvested in the winter months, get their sweetness from the long hot summers which also produce spicy chilies of all varieties, sweet dates, and stone fruits such as apricots, peaches and pluots. I would venture to say that Arizona has a greater variety of produce available year-round because of the mild to hot climate while Western Washington with its shorter growing season has a high yield in a shorter time span. Eastern Washington is notable for apple and cherry orchards, vineyards, potatoes, onions, wheat and lentils. There is a remarkable diversity of produce to be found in a relatively small radius from Seattle and on that note, let’s move up the coast and look at the Pacific Northwest.
Western Washington is home to several distinct ethnic groups such as the Native Peoples and the descendants of Swedish and Norwegian fishermen and loggers. Various Asian populations have also contributed greatly to Pacific Northwest cuisine beginning with the Chinese who worked on the railroads as well as Japanese and Korean immigrants.
One could argue that PNW is too “young” to have established a regional cuisine although Washington has been a state longer than Arizona. I think that because of the wide range of ethnicities of Washington State, it has taken longer to establish a regional cuisine than it has in Arizona where the immigrants until recently have primarily come from Mexico and Central and South America.
But take a look at the profusion of local cheese makers, brewers,wineries, produce co-ops and fisheries. We may not have a specific dish like Chicago deep dish, Southern barbecue or Boston brown bread but we have an abundance of fresh ingredients. Salmon, geoducks,oysters from Willapa Bay, Dungeness crab and rockfish of all kinds from the deep cold Pacific, apples, cherries, potatoes, asparagus, lentils and wheat from east of the Cascades, cranberries from the bogs along the coast, mushrooms, nettles and fiddlehead ferns foraged in early spring…are you hungry yet? What about the eponymous Tillamook cheddar cheese? Smoked trout from Idaho? Walla Walla sweet onions? Blackberries that grow in every ditch and backyard? You could even argue that we have rediscovered and reinvented charcuterie with Salumi in the Pike Place Market which is owned and operated by the Batali family (yes, that Batali family). There is a welcome influx of neighborhood butchers being opened by Bill the Butcher who offers fresh local organic meats in addition to cheeses, eggs and their own charcuterie made on-site.
With the emphasis on fresh ingredients, Sonoran dishes and the cuisine of the Pacific Northwest both rely on simple techniques which showcase the foods. In Arizona, grilling over mesquite adds flavor to thin cuts of beef and salmon fillets pair beautifully with both alder and cedar which are found in every Pacific Northwest backyard. Sauces in both regions are exclamations points highlighting the flavors of the dishes rather than disguising them. Ready for dessert? Fresh fruits and cheeses are a perfectly acceptable alternative to more traditional desserts but if you do crave a sweet ending to your meal,flaky pumpkin empanadas or fresh churros and a cup of Mexican hot chocolate round out a meal in Arizona. In the PNW, try a slice of blackberry or apple pie, a silky pannacotta made with local organic milk and a cup of coffee from a local roaster.
As I was researching Sonoran cuisine, I realized that I’ve cooked Mexican food this way all along, thanks to my dad. Dad moved to Arizona in the early 1970s to work construction with his dad (my grandpa) and that’s where my parents met. Dad was influenced,unconsciously I suspect, by the “roach coaches” (his term for taco trucks and yes, I know it’s not a particularly nice phrase!). I remember helping him make fresh salsa (pico de gallo is probably more accurate) with ripe Roma tomatoes, sweet onions and fat jalapeños with lots of cilantro and lime juice. Dad was primarily self-taught as a cook. His mom, my grandma (who we call Nana), made sure her three boys knew how to cook at least the basics and my dad and my uncles took it to the next level. John is married to a Norwegian woman and he’s learned to make an assortment of Scandinavian foods while Dave is married to a part Native American woman who is a dietitian so he cooks more vegetarian dishes.
I'm very fortunate that I have family who are just as food-obsessed as I am. My nieces and nephews all love fresh fruit and raw veggies, my brother-in-law makes a killer salsa and my younger brother and his wife are vegetarians; they continually inspire me to try new recipes. My other brother is a meat-cutter and an excellent resource for when I need to know how to prepare a certain cut of meat. We patronize farmers' markets and join co-ops and CSAs. We share recipes, cooking techniques and swap produce and dry goods if one of us has an abundance.
Food, for me, is more than a source of energy. It's a way of life. It's what I dream and think and read about. It's established traditions such as Christmas Eve dinner and it's a new tradition of Mexican food at every sibling get-together. I'm blessed to be able to draw on the foods of the Pacific Northwest and Arizona's Sonoran cuisine as I create my own traditions.
No comments:
Post a Comment