The question on my mind when I arrived in Santa Fe was how the flavors I'd heard so much about would differ from the Mexican cuisine I already loved. To get a handle on the complex history of New Mexican fare and savor the flavors of the region, I started at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. In a class called The Culture Walking Tour, Chef Rocky Durham taught our group of six about how both traditional and contemporary influences have resulted in the flavors that are distinctly Southwestern.

Durham's explanation of regional history laid the scene for an unusual gastronomic evolution. Santa Fe was established in 1610 after Spanish conquistadors claimed New Mexico. As the settlers acclimated to their new environment, they began to incorporate native spices and vegetables into their diet. The corn they had initially considered strange and heretical became, over time, a staple of the Spanish diet.

Durham emphasized the effect multiple cultures have had on food as they folded onto one another over the past four centuries. When the Pueblo people successfully revolted against their Spanish oppressors in 1680, French traditions became fashionable. It was Louis XIV's push for power in Europe that had distracted the Spanish away from New Mexico, so Nobel grape varietals like cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay quickly became appealing to those who resented their recent Spanish rulers.

Eventually, the area would pass from Pueblo control back to Spanish, Mexican and ultimately American jurisdiction. In that time, the use of local ingredients in recipes from many cultures merged into a style specific to New Mexico. Pinon trees' small, sweet nuts, chile peppers, corn, beans and tomatoes are all native to the Americas and provide a variety of flavors that have been adopted into global cuisine — try to imagine Italian without tomatoes or a curry without hot peppers. The key to New Mexican cuisine, according to Durham, is its use of indigenous produce to create flavors that can be imitated but not replicated anywhere else in the world.

Naturally, the exchange of knowledge went both ways. European cheese made a large impact on the traditional Native American diet — especially when it was wrapped in corn tortillas and smothered in either red or green chile sauce to create enchiladas. Most Santa Fe menus offer a choice between the two sauces, but locals know to order "Christmas Enchiladas" that pair red and green side by side on a steaming plate. Often, ancient Mesoamerican dishes such as pozole or refried beans accompany the dish.

At the cooking school, Durham served a savory sample of chicken Christmas Enchiladas with Rio Embudo Red Reserve Selection from La Chiripada winery in Dixon, N.M. That set the mood for our stroll through downtown Santa Fe in search of the historic layers that blended into what we now call New Mexican cuisine.

At cozy Los Mayas restaurant, we tasted traditional Puebla Mexican Chile en Nogada and New Mexican Cheese Chile Relleno. Owner Fernando Antillas laughed when he explained that his signature Sangarita came from a mistaken blend of a Mexican Margarita and a Spanish Sangria. The error turned out to be a delightful example of the way foods have evolved in this area.

At the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum, Walter Whitewater shared his grandmother's Dine (Navajo) chile bean recipe. As we enjoyed the bison and native vegetables, Whitewater explained that American Indians make an offering before taking an animal's life and then pledge to efficiently and respectfully use every part of that animal. Before we left, he sang a celebration of our gathering to the rhythm of a drum made from the hide and horns of one such fallen bison.

Our next stops offered Spanish-influenced tapas and creative contemporary cuisine. To complete our education, we tasted Spanish food and wine at La Boca and looked to the future at Coyote Cafe, where careful attention is placed on creating interesting flavors and artistic presentations in a bright but refined open-kitchen atmosphere.

For the rest of our stay, my companion and I sought out more of these unusual flavor combinations. We found pure bliss at The Shed, a family-owned restaurant in an adobe home that surrounds a 300-year-old patio. Peppers at this restaurant come directly from the farm and are ground on site to provide the freshest flavors. Rich, smooth green and smoky, pungent, red chile sauces were complemented by pomegranate margaritas, another twist on the traditional cocktail courtesy of the Spanish, who introduced pomegranates to the New World in the 1700s.

The Spanish might not have expected that exotic fruit to become a tasty beverage, but Franciscan missionaries who planted smuggled Spanish vines into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the 1590s had hoped their grapes would yield sacramental wines. The vines they cultivated in the high mountain climate became the first wine region in the New World. When the Spanish ultimately left New Mexico, the vineyards took a hiatus until local vintners renewed the tradition in 1972 and wine production began again.

At a 6,100-foot elevation, the growing season lasts only 4 1/2 months. That is enough to perfect French hybrids and Rieslings, but to create other blends winemakers turn to Deming in the southwest corner of New Mexico, where additional grapes are cultivated. La Chiripada, Vivac and Black Mesa wineries lie along the Rio Grande on the low road to Taos and offer carefully produced wines that harmonize with Southwestern cuisine simply by having enjoyed the same sun and soil as the other produce that creates Santa Fe's distinctive flavor.

Even dessert has an unusual flair. We finished our Santa Fe visit on a sweet note at La Casa Sena's festive Cantina with a recommended Hungarian Tokaji and their signature Chilled Chocolate Red Chile Soup With Sugared Pinons and Fresh Strawberries. The blending of Mesoamerican chocolate with New Mexican chiles and pinons complemented the European wine and was the perfect goodbye to this unusual city that continues to merge ancient, historic and global cuisines into its own unique flavor.

IF YOU GO:

The Santa Fe School of Cooking is located at 116 W. San Francisco Street, just one block off of Santa Fe Plaza, and offers a variety of demonstration and hands-on classes. 505-983-4511 www.santafeschoolofcooking.com. We arranged our culinary tour through the "Muy Sabrosa" package at our hotel, the Inn on the Alameda, which includes breakfast and evening wine-and-cheese gatherings in the price of the room. 505-984-2121. www.inn-alameda.com.

RESTAURANTS

To visit our favorite tastes of New Mexico:

— Los Mayas: 409 W. Water St., Santa Fe, N. M.; 505-986-9930; www.losmayas.com.

— La Casa Sena and La Cantina: 125 E. Palace Ave., Santa Fe, N.M.; 505-988-9232; www.lacasasena.com.

— The Shed: 113 1/2 E. Palace Ave., Santa Fe, N.M.; 505-982-9030; www.sfshed.com.

— Pasqual's: 121 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe, N.M.; 505-983-9340; www.pasquals.com.

— La Boca: 72 W. Marcy St., Santa Fe, N.M.; 505-982-3433; www.labocasantafe.com.

— Coyote Cafe: 131 W. Water St., Santa Fe, N.M.; 505-983-1615; www.coyotecafe.com.

If you prefer to re-create the local Southwestern flavors of New Mexico in your own kitchen, Walter Whitewater's family recipes can be found in "Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations" by Lois Ellen Frank. This cookbook is available at the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum, 108 Cathedral Place, Santa Fe, N.M.; 505-983-8900; www.iaia.edu.

WINERIES

Take the Low Road north toward Taos to find the Rio Grande wine country and enjoy samples from the oldest wine region in the New World:

Black Mesa Winery: 1502 State Highway 68, Velarde, N.M.; 800-852-6372; www.blackmesawinery.com.

La Chiripada Winery: Hwy 75, Dixon, N.M.; 800-528-7801 www.lachiripada.com.

Vivac Winery: 2075 State Hwy 68, Embudo, N.M., 505-579-4441; www.vivacwinery.com.

Lesley Sauls is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.

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Santa Fe - A Taste of History