Southwest cooking doesn't have to mean just tacos and tortilla soup. Southwestern cuisine is a unique blend of flavors and spices, influenced by the Spanish colonial settlers and Native American tribes, as well as our Mexican neighbors. With all of this influence, there is absolutely no reason you should ever get tired of Southwestern cuisine.
This is one cuisine that is extremely budget friendly, even when kicked up a notch or two into gourmet territory. Here are a few ways to transform your everyday Southwest dishes into gourmet style:
Swap out other recipes with Southwest Ingredients
One of the great concepts of gourmet cooking is that you can take any basic dish and transform it by adding new tastes and textures. You can even take a classic dish from one region and totally change it to represent another part of the world.
For instance, if you were to take an Italian style dish like lasagna, and make it with some Southwestern ingredients, you will get an unusual and delicious variation on an expected meal. Just imagine adding corn, black beans, and chilies to the sauce while topping it off with?