Featured Article - August 2009
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| Feast Day: Navajo tacos are a sign of high summer. We offer low-fat and vegetarian options, too. |
SOUTHWEST FLAVOR
Indian Summer Celebration
Bring home the local color with calabacitas and Navajo tacos
Story, recipes, and photography by Lois Ellen Frank
In New Mexico, August is for savoring summer’s bounty and celebrating Native traditions. This month, food stands across the state will be serving up Navajo tacos, a.k.a. Indian tacos, at events like feast days at the Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Zia, and Picurís pueblos; at the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial; and at the Santa Fe Indian Market.
An adaptation of the conventional variety, Indian tacos use fry bread in place of tortillas for a more savory flavor—but fry bread is heavier, too. Taking both tradition and nutrition into account, Diné (Navajo) chef Walter Whitewater and I concocted a new variation. We prepare smaller portions of the fry bread itself, and focus instead on a healthy topping incorporating organically raised bison meat, organic pinto and kidney beans, local baby lettuce and arugula salad greens, heirloom tomatoes, avocados, and daikon radish sprouts.
The bison meat we use is raised locally by Picurís Pueblo, a member of the InterTribal Bison Cooperative (ITBC). This program’s goal is to build a healthy, sustainable food source for the Picurís, and to reduce diet-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. If you haven’t tried the pueblo’s bison, you may come to prefer it to beef—it has more flavor and less fat.
Hearty tacos like these are nicely complemented by a veggie dish, using late summer’s plentiful zucchini and yellow squash. Today a traditional New Mexican dish, calabacitas was first made by indigenous people, then adopted by the Spanish who named it “calabacitas” or “little squash.” The dish can be made with any squash in season, such as zucchini and yellow squash in summer or butternut squash or pumpkin in the fall. True, there are New Mexicans who say they don’t like calabacitas; I say, “You’ve never had good calabacitas!” For such a simple dish, the technique and the recipe are everything. The calabacitas recipe I’m sharing here is a contemporary version of an old favorite, combining fresh summer zucchini
and yellow squash with sweet carrots and spicy New Mexico green chile. Made incorrectly calabacitas can be watery and mushy. Trust this recipe to produce a crisp-tender, summer vegetable medley.
The ingredients matter, too. I head to the Santa Fe Farmers Market for the freshest squash I can get. Small to medium sized squash works best. (Larger summer squash promise more water—and runny results.) Make sure the squash is firm to the touch, has few or no dents, and has smooth, unwrinkled skin. I know once you try this calabacitas recipe, you’ll come back to it again and again.
Lois Ellen Frank is a chef, author, and photographer living in Santa Fe. She is presently completing her PhD in culinary anthropology at the University of New Mexico. She is also an adjunct professor at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and an instructor at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. Her company, Red Mesa Cuisine, specializes in preparing local, sustainable, and Native American-source meals.
For info: www.redmesacuisine.com, www.loisphoto.com
Bison Meat Navajo Tacos
This recipe is a delicious way to enjoy a fry-bread taco topped with healthy, sustainably grown ingredients.
Meat Topping
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb organic ground bison meat
1 medium red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 fresh vine tomato, coarsely chopped
1½ cups organic pinto beans, cooked (dried or canned)
1 cup organic kidney beans, cooked (dried or canned)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons (⅓ cup) New Mexico green chiles
(roasted, peeled, stems removed), chopped;
or use prepared green-chile sauce
Taco Topping
1 cup organic baby salad greens
1 cup organic baby arugula salad greens
1 cup heirloom baby tomatoes, sliced
1 8-oz package (2 cups) Jack cheese, grated
¼ cup New Mexico or Anaheim green chiles
(roasted, peeled, stems removed), chopped;
or use prepared green-chile sauce
1 avocado, sliced
1 oz daikon radish sprouts (optional)
In cast-iron skillet or frying pan, heat olive oil until hot. Add ground meat. Using slotted spoon or potato masher, break meat into small pieces as it browns. Cook about 5 minutes, until completely brown, stirring to prevent burning.
Add chopped onion and garlic and cook another 3–4 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add chopped tomatoes and cook another 3 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add cooked pinto
and kidney beans and stir. Add salt, 6 tablespoons of green chile, and stir again. Cook 1 minute more, stirring to prevent burning. Remove from heat.
Spoon meat-and-bean mixture atop freshly made fry bread, then top with greens, tomatoes, cheese, more chopped green chile, avocado, and sprouts.
Serve immediately.
Makes 6–8 tacos.
COOK'S TIPS: • Find Picurís Pueblo bison meat at the Santa Fe Farmers Market, or contact the Picurís Pueblo Bison Program at (575) 587-1077, ppbisonp@aol.com
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Note: If you’re using canned beans, you’ll need one 15-ounce can each of the pintos and kidneys, rinsed and drained. I use a delicious New Mexico product called El Rancho de los Garcia’s Green Chile Sauce, which is made in Portales, New Mexico, by the Garcia Family. (See “Cook’s Tips.”)
Vegetarian Option: Omit bison meat and use only pinto and kidney beans. For more flavor, add your favorite guacamole. Avocados contain approximately 20 vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, including vitamins E and C, folate, iron, potassium, and beta-carotene. They also act as a nutrient booster by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients (such as lutein and alpha- and beta-carotene) from foods eaten with the fruit.
Indian Fry Bread
They don’t call it fry bread for nothin’. Try this traditional recipe or aim for the low-fat option below.
3 cups organic unbleached flour
1½ tablespoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1⅛ cups warm water
2 cups vegetable shortening for frying
In bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually stir in water until dough becomes soft and pliable without sticking to bowl.
Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 4 minutes, folding outer edges of dough in toward center. Dough should be soft and very pliable.
Return dough to bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise 30 minutes.
Shape dough into small balls. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough balls to ¼-inch in thickness. (You can use a rolling pin, but I use my hands. Although this makes for slightly uneven rounds, everyone will know they are handmade, and I think it gives each taco a bit more authenticity.) Stretch or roll out dough until each ball forms a disc 6–8 inches in diameter.
For traditional fry bread: Heat 2 cups vegetable shortening in skillet or wide saucepan (the saucepan’s greater depth will prevent the oil from splattering) until completely melted and very hot (but not smoking).
Place dough circle in hot oil, slipping it in gently to avoid splattering. Cook until both sides are puffy and golden-brown. (Use two forks to turn bread over.)
Remove bread from oil and drain on paper towels until excess oil is absorbed. Repeat with each piece of dough. Keep fried bread warm between two clean kitchen towels. Serve immediately with Bison Meat Navajo Tacos toppings.
Low-fat option: Prepare dough exactly the same way but do not fry. Instead, heat cast-iron skillet or griddle until very hot, place dough on skillet, and cook 2–3 minutes until browned. Turn bread over and cook another 2–3 minutes. These tortillas can be used with the Bison Meat Navajo Tacos recipe as well.
Makes 8–10 fried or grilled tortilla breads.
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| Garden variety: Calabacitas can be made with any squash. In August, fresh zucchini and summer squash are ideal. |
Contemporary Calabacitas
This is my favorite recipe for calabacitas: It mixes the sweetnesses of tender summer squash and carrots with the spiciness of New Mexico green chile.
½ cup New Mexico green chiles (roasted, peeled, stems removed), coarsely chopped
4 carrots, julienned
4 small green zucchini, julienned
4 yellow summer squash, julienned
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup fresh or frozen kernels of yellow sweet corn
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Roast whole chiles over open flame, then peel, seed, and coarsely chop; or use prepared green-chile sauce. Cut zucchini, squash, and carrots into small julienne strips 2 inches long using mandolin slicer, or cut by hand with knife.
In cast-iron or sauté pan, heat olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. When oil is hot (but not smoking), add carrot strips. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add zucchini and squash and stir again. Cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add corn and cook another 2 minutes. Add garlic, green chile, salt, and pepper. Cook 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly, to blend flavors. Serve immediately as a hot side dish to any meal.
Serves 8.
