Chef Cristina Martinez on Being a Big Fish in a Small Pond at Taos’ Di La Tierra

By Mary Farah

Some resorts are hard to forget. I’ve been fortunate to stay at several yet none have left the impact that New Mexico’s El Monte Sagrado has. Located in the beautiful artistic ski town of Taos, El Monte Sagrado is the state’s most elaborate resort built to date. From the moment you step onto the grounds, built on sacred land, you know it’s something special.

From their various rooms and casitas to cocoon away to and spa treatments and meditation hours, a highlight for me was without a doubt, the fine dining. El Monte Sagrado’s Di La Tierra offers an exquisite menu of classic New Mexican fare that will leave you drooling. Curated by state native, Chef Cristina Martinez, I was thrilled to catch up with her to learn more about the passion that drives her to create works of art on plates.

You’re a New Mexico native, studied at Le Cordon Bleu in California, then returned home. What drew you back to your roots?

I was very homesick in Los Angeles. There was always something missing food- wise, family, peace. It was not a place for me to grow, for me, it was just a place to learn and get out. An instructor told me when I was thinking of moving back that sometimes it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond. That stuck with me and gave me that little push.

New Mexico is known for food you can’t find anywhere else. Does this make your job more exciting than when you’ve worked in other states?

To me it means home, recipes and flavors passed down and cherished. What sums up our cuisine here is tradition and its simplicity that comes from all around us with the cultures and the terroir. It’s most certainly a comfortable place

Chef Cristina. ©Merriam018

cooking it now; it’s just second nature, that I’m constantly trying to perfect.

Did you know from a young age that the culinary arts were your calling?

Oh yes, very much so. I would help my mom cook for large groups at home, and people took notice that I was good at cooking. I fell in love with that feeling of pleasing people with food. That is still my number one drive with cooking.

Was there a “turning point” in your career? There have been many. I’ve had extremely terrible, hard times, and some really good ones in this industry. What keeps me from burning out is

Breakfast. Courtesy Di la Tierra

Anaconda Steak. Courtesy Di la Tierra

I try to learn and grow as much as I can. I don’t think I’ve found my peak yet -- that would be to open my own restaurant.

How do you cope with the strenuous hours being a chef requires?

It’s a constant battle, so you try to heal your wounds as best you can. The pandemic has forever changed how I deal with exhaustion and stress. I feel now I am a lot more introverted than I have ever been, so being at home with my husband and dogs is my sanctuary.

Working in the kitchen is known to have its “moments.”

What do you do to stay in the zone when those crazy times arise?

That is my zen zone, I thrive the most there, especially in controlled chaos. I tend to deal better with craziness, finding solutions, and making it happen when it seems like the world is collapsing. serving something questionable. You need to question why you are doing this if you do any of that.

Do you have any advice for aspiring chefs out there?

I would never tell a young person they should do this; I would only tell them the truth, and the truth is it’s a total nightmare at times. The best advice I can give is to travel and learn; find someone you can trust who will invest in you as a chef when you are full of knowledge. Find ways to improve this industry rather than doing the same old stuff.

You absolutely need to love cooking and all the endless hardships that come with this very unforgiving industry. It can be rewarding when you find your niche, and that takes tons of hard work and dedication.

Just like anything it takes a bit of luck, whom you know, hard work, and talent to become successful.

Recipe

Blackened Tuna Tostada Ingredients:

Salsa Verde (recipe below) Avocados 1 can of black beans Blue corn tortillas Olive oil Salt Tomatoes Chili powder Garlic powder High quality Ahi tuna

Salsa Verde Ingredients:

3 Tomatoes 4 Tomatillos 1 lb onions 2 jalapeños 2 oz cilantro 1 oz garlic Salt, to taste 2 limes, juiced 1 tsp cumin 1/8 cup water

Fresh tuna, Courtesy getstencil.com

Directions:

Char tomatoes, jalapeño, tomatillos, and onion in cast iron or grill. Place in a blender, and add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Drain can of black beans; season with salt, chili powder, garlic powder to taste; and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Heat butter in a pan until it reaches 350 degrees

Place one corn tortilla at a time flipping once until oil slows down. Pat dry oil off of tortillas and season good quality salt. Use blackened seasoning and season Ahi tuna heavily. Be sure that the tuna is nice and dry from any moisture.

Heat sauté pan to medium-high heat. Add a tiny bit of oil to prevent tuna from sticking. Add tuna to pan to sear and make sure to prevent overcrowding the pan so that it does not cool too quickly.

Sear about 10 seconds per side, you should have good color on the outside and just white around the edges of tuna, tuna should be rare. Slice half an avocado per tostada.

Slice tuna when cooled into 5 thin pieces per tostada. Spread bean puree thinly on the tostada and a little under the tortilla itself to prevent from sliding around on the plate.

Place avocado on tostada. Add tuna and drizzle salsa. Garnish with cilantro, fresh tomato, olive oil and fresh lime wedges.