Cole Slaw, New Mexico Style

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Well, I have to admit that nobody jumped on my offer of Low Crab Recipes, but what the hey, I'm going to post one anyway.

We have discovered a new (to us) restaurant here in Santa Fe that makes the most wonderful barbecue. Not only is their meat smoked and cooked perfectly, but they seem to find the meatiest ribs I've ever seen. And they're consistent in both quality and quantity.

Now when it comes to barbecue, the sides are usually the downfall for a person who is trying to eat low carb. Corn on the cob, french fries, baked beans, potato salad, they're all off the plate the way we're currently eating.

Then the Green Chile Cole Slaw caught my eye, so I added it as my side of choice. And WOW, was this ever good. As I was eating it, I was trying to figure out the ingredients (I can't help myself, it's what I do).

There was no sweet to it at all, but instead it was creamy and rich, very yummy. The green chiles gave it an additional flavor and punch that made it perfect. They seemed to add really an extra level of flavor that sent the dish it right over the top.

When we got home, I immediately started playing in the kitchen. My first batch started with thinly sliced cabbage. For the dressing, I used s couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise, a like amount of green chiles and some chopped up cilantro. It was OK, but not quite right.

Now before I go on, I'd like to say a few words about New Mexico green chile. I don't want to bum any of you out, but if you don't have access to fresh roasted (then usually frozen immediately) New Mexico green chile, then you have missed one of the sublime tastes in the universe. They are like the perfect fruit (yes, the chile is a fruit), bringing out the best in a variety of other foods while still maintaining their unique flavor. I'm not knocking Anaheim chiles, or poblano chiles or any of the others you may find. I just wish I could explain to you just exactly what it is that makes a New Mexico chile different from any other taste in the universe, but trust me, once you've tasted it you understand immediately.

All right, enough blathering about the glories of New Mexico green chile, back to the slaw.

I tasted the slaw and started all over again. This time I used mayonnaise, but added a bit of sour cream to make it smoother. I also increased the green chile to equal the amounts of mayo and sour cream. I used a complete bunch of cilantro (chopped very fine), added some garlic powder, a squeeze of lemon and put in about four drops of Cholula Sauce.

Once I dressed the cabbage, I tasted it, added a bit of Kosher salt and a good amount of fresh ground pepper, and it was perfect!

If you're tired of the same old sweet cole slaw, you might want to give this spicier version a try. And one more thing . . .

If you don't have the advantage of true New Mexico Hatch chiles, take a look in a local ethnic market and you might be lucky enough to find frozen Hatch chiles in their cases. If you cant find them frozen, you could go with the small cans of chopped, but you may need to add a bit more Cholula to get the kick.