Huitlacoche Quesadillas
This summer we were looking forward to fresh corn on the cob straight from our garden. Unfortunately, our corn didn’t grow any taller than me and the ears remained small and underdeveloped.
We didn’t harvest any. And now the stalks have shriveled and died.
My only consolation is that our neighbor—who always plants a big garden—had similar issues with his corn, so it wasn’t my lack of expertise that produced such a sorry crop.
Our corn did produce one thing, though:
Smut.
Corn smut, also called corn truffle or corn mushroom, is a fungus which grows on ears of corn.
In the U.S., it’s a blight that farmers want to avoid.
In Mexico, it’s called huitlacoche (weet-luh-koe-chei) and is considered a delicacy.
My first reaction when I saw a couple ears of corn had gotten infected was disgust, then disappointment that two ears of corn were definitely ruined.
Then I remembered the delicacy aspect and wondered if I should try it.
After all, I’m up for trying new foods, like the ones I had this summer:
Grilled Octopus Salad 
Dragon Roll with eel
So I found a recipe for huitlacoche quesadillas, and harvested the corn smut.
I wasn’t brave enough to taste an corn truffle by itself. I waited until I’d made the filling for the quesadillas. That was a mistake, because by then all I could taste was the garlic. 😄 I suspect they taste more like mushrooms if eaten plain.
In the end, I thought the huitlacoche quesadillas tasted fine, but I doubt I’ll make them again. I had filling left over and ended up using it as salsa for tacos. (Fried flour tortillas, seasoned hamburger, & cheese.) Now that was delicious!
If I ever (accidentally) grow corn truffles again I’ll make the recipe as a salsa for my tacos.
A couple weeks afterward, I excitedly told my friend—who is of Mexican descent—about my experiment with this delicacy. She’d never even heard of huitlacoche. 😂😂😂
Huitlacoche Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 2 large tomatoes
- ½ medium onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 12 oz huitlacoche
- 2 tbl canola or vegetable oil
- 8 corn tortillas
- 12 oz shredded cheese of your choice
Directions
- Chop the huitlacoche, onion, tomatoes, and garlic.
- In a small saucepan, saute the huitlacoche in 1 tbl oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
- Add 1 tbl oil to pan and saute the onion, tomatoes and garlic, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add to huitlacoche and stir until well mixed.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Place corn tortilla in pan and sprinkle half with cheese. Spoon huitlacoche mixture onto cheese, then sprinkle with more cheese, keeping it all on only half the tortilla. Using a spatula, fold tortilla over.
- When the bottom is turning golden and the cheese has melted, flip and cook on the other side. Remove from heat and repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Serve with your favorite salsa.
Notes
