Food can undoubtedly be weird! Oysters, cheese, sauerkraut and fish sauce are all weird.
When I was a kid I loved the taste of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup but hated the bits, so mom strained it for me. More a weird kid thing than a weird food thing, but to 10 year-old Nicky, mushrooms were weird. Sometimes with enough exposure and trials, our most despised foods can become our favourites.
Huitlacoche (more commonly referred to as Corn Smut), is a fungus that attacks the entire host plant by invading its ovaries. The invasion causes an infection that results in the individual kernels of corn exploding into what I can only describe as “Mordor’s fungal mushroom popcorn puffs.” That’s weird. What’s interesting is it’s delicious.
Huitlacoche is also known as “corn mushroom” and “Mexican truffle”. Both of these monikers are more accurate descriptions for a diner. The edible outcome of the fungus vs corn fight is something that can only be described as otherworldly — ranging in colours of soft greys and whites, to jet black and texture comparable to a powdery yet slimy puffball mushroom.
Depending on the host plant, it can produce a flavour like no other, but it’s always described at some point by the confused and fumbling pallet as being mushroom-like. It is often thought to taste of truffles, the king of mushrooms.
In September my colleague Sydney was given an incredible example of this unique ingredient, as a result of her involvement in her community and her continued exploration of her Indigenous culture. This particular specimen was grown on Haudenosaunee White Corn by a local Indigenous farming project.
The key to good huitlacoche is that it is not grown on modern varieties of corn created in labs. Those varieties are designed to withstand things like this and grow large shimmering yellow ears. Instead, it thrives on heritage varieties of corn and long before large crop farmers tried to eradicate it from existence, it was beloved by Indigenous people throughout much of North America, particularly in Mexico.
As a chef, this will always be a remarkable memory, dish and recipe. Sydney is our head chef in our Mexican-inspired restaurant, where we are lucky to have several great employees including Hilda who plays a big role in our kitchen and hails from Veracruz, Mexico. Watching these two chefs share, explore and discover an ingredient like this, and being on the receiving end of that kitchen love, is the kind of thing that gives you goosebumps.
To have a front-row seat to learn along with them was a special and delicious experience. It was a stark reminder that I’ve come a long way from being that weird kid who got his mushroom soup strained.
Sydney and Hilda prepared this in an unassuming way that really highlighted the earthy flavour —a gooey quesadilla stuffed with slow-cooked huitlacoche and queso Oaxaca, enveloped in a fresh corn tortilla fried crisp on the plancha and accompanied by simple charred tomato salsa and lime.
Nothing weird about that, check out the recipe below and try and find yourself some corn smut.
Quesadilla de Huitlacoche Recipe
This will be a pretty hard thing for you to source, so start talking to farmers now so that next year when the corn is high you can get your hands on some fresh corn smut! A friend grew some at home in his garden, so you could try that too, but the science as to when and how this stuff appears just doesn’t exist, so you may only end up growing corn, which really doesn’t suck either. If all else fails, this same recipe can be made with mushrooms and a drop of truffle oil, but it won’t be nearly the adventure or experience!
Ingredients for the Quesadilla
Huitlacoche x 1lb
Spanish Onion x 1
Garlic x 3 cloves
Cumin x 2t
Juice from 2 limes
Mexican oregano x 2t
Oil/butter ½ C
Queso Oaxaca
Salt
Corn tortillas
1: Saute the onions, garlic, cumin and oregano in the oil until the onions begin to brown, add the huitlacoche and continue to cook for 15 minutes on medium-high heat. The huitlacoche will turn black and get quite wet, don’t be alarmed this is normal and very similar to more common mushrooms.
2: Once the mixture has dried out a bit we add our salt and continue to saute for five more minutes. At this stage reduce the heat to low and add the lime juice, cook a few more minutes and then remove from heat and set aside
3: Make a quesadilla with the cheese and the corn tortilla. I need to explain how to do that I don’t understand how you got this far. Oh and don’t try and cheat using flour tortillas, the way the sourness and richness of the corn tortilla play off the earthiness of the huitlacoche simply can’t be skipped.
Salsa
Roma Tomatoes x 1lb
Cilantro chopped (roots too) x 1C
Spanish onion x 1/2
Juice from 2 limes
Salt
Tomato paste 2 tsp
Cascabel chilli dried x 2
Pasilla chilli dried x 1
Mulato chilli dried x 1
Chipotle chilli dried x 1
Morita chilli dried x 2
Canned tomato 3C
Ok, so for starters I realize that it’s a bit of a scavenger hunt to find all those chillies however give it a try. The adventure of looking will read rewards because you will have likely stumbled into every Latin grocer in your area and found amazing things hidden behind those doors, even if you don’t find the chillies. If you can’t find them, fresh jalapeno will do, canned chipotle, powdered chillies or whatever you can source will give great results I’m sure.
1: Place tomatoes in a large bowl, lightly toss in oil and salt, grill or place under a broiler on a tray until completely charred, flipping halfway to evenly char.
2: Place peppers on separate trays toast in the oven until puffed and slightly crispy.
3: Gather the rest of the ingredients, chop the onions and place all into a food processor adding the tomatoes and peppers once they are cooled. Be sure to chop the cilantro first so it blends well.
6: Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed!
Nick Benninger is a local chef and restaurant owner.
Nick Benninger
Nick Benninger is a local chef and restaurant owner who writes the column 519 Schmecks.