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| Cowboys and Indians; A Look at the Evolution of Southwestern Cuisine by Doug Turbush Let’s face it, if these two hadn’t come along and clashed, we might still be eating blue corn mush and grilled prairie dog in what is now the Great Southwest. In any cuisine it is important to understand its origin before taking on the daunting task of mastering its flavors. Southwestern cuisine is arguably North America’s oldest indigenous cuisine, dating back before the Mayflower hit the horizon and even before Columbus got lost and found here. This cuisine started with the Native Americans, contributing corn, blue corn, legumes, squash and game. Cortes and his Spanish conquisition of Mexico sent shockwaves through Mexico and the southwest, on its coattails were ingredients like rice, tomatoes, and tomatillos. Next, the pilgrims eventually discover the riches of the west and brought with them all of their staple ingredients and appetites. And of course Mexico, our beloved neighbor that has given us so much in the way of waking up our culinary senses, continues to impact, shape and transform the way we eat here in the U.S. Let us not forget the "little guys" that have started the next phase of evolution of Southwestern Cuisine, like Peru, Chile, Argentina, Guatemala, and Brazil. There is not a Southwestern Chef in the country that hasn’t started to tap into the wonderful flavors of these little known culinary powerhouses. Obviously a cuisine with such deep and profound roots is here for the long haul. The cuisine and its flavors are neither a trend, nor a passing fad and will be here long after we are not. The beauty of this cuisine lies in its lack of boundaries, it is a living breathing entity that continues to be shaped and transformed by its pioneers and by its mere ability to travel. Take for example Southwestern cuisine here in Atlanta. I am certainly not afraid to throw in some southern touches; collard greens, shrimp and grits and succotash here and there. As Southwestern cuisine has penetrated other regions of the U.S. and the world, it will continue to expand its borders and lose any rules it may have picked up along the way. We still have a rowdy cowboy on our hands folks. Pioneers of this great cuisine that have found their way into the limelight deserve a moment of our attention. These are the people that have pushed the envelope in terms of what can and cannot be done with ingredients of the Southwest. Mark Miller, Stephan Pyles and Dean Fearing are the godfathers of this cuisine in our time. Like Auguste Escoffier in his time, these great chefs have been some of the first to document and lay parameters for what makes up Southwestern Cuisine and have really helped to bring it into the eyes of the population. As the evolution continues, many have been quick to badge the cuisine or coin a phrase to describe particular aspects of its heritage. “Tex Mex” is my least favorite and tends to make me cringe to be perfectly honest. I like to think my cuisine and even the cuisine of the Southwest encompasses so much more than just Texas and Mexico. In fact, the heart of Southwestern Cuisine is really Santa Fe, to which this title pays no mention. I leave the aforementioned title to those who are in it for the money. “Border cuisine” is a little more forgiving and as long as we can cross that border, it’s cool with me. “Nuevo Latino” is the latest creation, led by Chef Douglas Rodriquez who has a book by the same name. This encompasses cuisine and interpretations of the cuisine of Latin America, Cuba and South America. “New World Cuisine” is spearheaded by Chef Norman Van Aken, which tackles Southern Florida, Cuba, Mexico and focuses on South America. Nevertheless, all of these emerging cuisines impact the core of Southwestern cuisine. The main reason is each have ingredients that easily crossover from one cuisine to the next. Even Asia is now big in the Southwest. Asia you say? Yes; the pioneers of the cuisine we mentioned earlier all have Asian flavors in some form or another on their menus. Once again, this is evolution and this is due to crossover ingredients like the chile pepper. You will find soy sauce, coconut milk, palm sugar and lemongrass in my pantry at Nava. We have come a long way since the days of cowboys and indians and it is exciting to watch which way we steer this cuisine towards the future. The flavors of the great Southwest are some of the most exciting on the planet and they will continue to penetrate and proliferate in years to come. I’m glad to be a part of it and hope you take the time to explore it, understand it and most importantly, savor the Southwest. Doug Turbush is the Executive Chef of Nava Restaurant. |
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| Chef Doug Turbush of Nava Restaurant. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Click here for Doug Turbush's Bio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Click here for Doug Turbush's Bio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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