Huitlacoche Quesadillas

A simple quesadilla with huitlacoche (corn mushrooms) is a contender for the best quesadilla I've had. It's also one of the most traditional recipes I know of for these special mushrooms and can be made with fresh mushrooms off the cobb, frozen, or tinned. If you're new to cooking with these mushrooms, it's probably the best recipe I know of to start with.

A Traditional Meat Substitute

Huitlacoche is often used as a meat replacement (zucchini blossoms too). It's harvested in large quantities in Mexico where it's sold fresh, as well as in cans year round.

If you go to a decent Mexican restaurant with a list of protein options, along with the carnitas and al pastor, you'll probably see huitlacoche, sometimes described as corn mushrooms.

I love huitlacoche, but I don't often order it at Mexican restaurants because it's always canned which isn't as good as fresh or frozen. Canned huitlacoche is heavy on the juice and also contains a large amount of field corn that gets cut off the cob as the mushrooms are being removed.

My huitlacoche comes from my friend Mushroom Mike LLC. Based in Milwaukee, I've watched his business grow from renting a few rows of corn years ago, to being the largest supplier of huitlacoche in the United States.

How to Make it

Essentially we're just cooking down the mushrooms with onion, garlic and tomato to make a thick black paste-but it's a delicious black paste! For clarity, in the images I'm making a triple batch of the recipe as it's easily scaled.

The first thing to do is process the huitlacoche If you're lucky enough to get some fresh during the season, remove the husk, along with as much of the corn silk as you can, then cut the mushroom kernels from the cob, leaving as little mushroom on the cob as possible. If the huitlacoche is frozen, it just needs to be thawed.

Next, build the aromatic base. Sweat some minced or grated garlic in oil until golden, then add finely chopped onions, cooking them down low and slow until tender. The subtle texture of the mushroom is the star here, so take your time and make sure the onions are tender.

Next, the huitlacoche. Traditionally, the mushrooms might be pounded to a paste on a metate: a wide stone tool used to grind corn and other grains. Frozen mushrooms will become thick on their own, but if I use fresh mushrooms I'll crush them with a wooden mallet.

After the mushroom liquid's cooked off, add the tomatoes. If I use frozen huitlacoche, I add the mushroms and tomatoes at the same time. Fresh tomatoes are traditional, but canned are easier, and I like the way they help thicken the mixture. Depending on availability I will make it either way.

After the tomato and mushrooms are added the mixture's cooked down slowly to evaporate moisture. Once you can see the bottom of the pan when stirring it's done-season the mixture to taste and add a handful of cilantro, epazote, or both.

Final Quesadillas

Finally, the fun part. Take some tortillas and put them on a cast iron griddle or a comal with some melting cheese like Queso Oaxaca, Chihuahua or Queso Quesadilla. In a pinch mozzarella or Monterey jack is ok, but only ok. Add a spoonful of the mushroom mixture.

Then fold the tortilla in half, pressing down gently to force a little cheese out on the peripheries, which will give you a golden brown cheese skirt, as we say in restaurant parlance.

Once they're hot and the tortillas have some color they're done. If you want, peel one side up and drizzle a spoonful of hot sauce in each one, or serve some alongside.

As for the flavor, fresh from the cobb the mushrooms are mild, but frozen or canned they have a very strong, unique flavor. It tastes mushroomy and rich, almost smoky, with a slightly bitter, saffron-like metallic flavor that'll grow on you. I'll be serving a few hundred of them at the North American Mycological Society Foray next week in Michigan.

Chef's Tips

There's a very big difference in using fresh and frozen huitlacoche here. The freezing process breaks down the mushrooms somewhat, releasing a lot of water and turning jet black during the process, and developing a stronger flavor similar to canned huitlacoche.

Cut fresh off the cob, the mushrooms don't turn completely black, and you'll have many more visible kernels that keep a more firm texture. While fresh is my preference, the vast majority of people will only have access to frozen or canned huitlacoche. See the two finished products side by side below for comparison.

Flour tortillas get golden brown, crisp and delicious, but are not the most traditional here. I prefer corn tortillas personally, both for their chewy texture and the fact I can't tolerate gluten. As another option, consider making fresh tortillas, stuffed masa cakes or pupusas with the huitlacoche mix.

Meat eaters and vegetarians will gobble them up faster than you can say corn smut, but I've also done versions with chorizo sausage and mushrooms that were good too.

Related Posts  

• Huitlacoche
• Huitlacoche Elotes
• Huitlacoche Recipes
• Choriqueso Dip with Mushrooms

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5 from 7 votes

Huitlacoche Quesadilla

A simple quesadilla made with huitlacoche or corn mushrooms, instead of meat. The huitlacoche mixture makes more than you need, enough for 2-3 quesadillas depending on size. Smaller corn tortillas will make 6-8 quesadillas.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: huitlacoche recipe

Servings: 8 Servings

Calories: 34kcal

Author: Alan Bergo

Cost: 10

Equipment

• 1 wide skillet
• 1 mallet or similar for crushing the huitlacoche, optional
• 1 1 large cast iron skillet or griddle
• 1 wooden spoon

Ingredients

• 8 oz fresh or frozen huitlacoche you can use canned huitlacoche but it's not quite the same
• 6 oz 2 large Roma tomatoes 1 14.5 oz can chopped, whole peeled tomatoes can be substituted
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Small handful of chopped fresh cilantro Epazote can also be added, and is traditional
• 1 Tablespoons pork lard or cooking oil
• Crushed red pepper flakes or 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• ½ tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 oz grated cheese, such as queso Oaxaca, mozzarella, etc
• 8 inch flour tortillas or smaller corn tortillas
• hot sauce to taste preferably a Mexican brand, like Cholula or Valentina.

Instructions

Tomatoes

• Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Meanwhile, core the tomatoes, score the bottoms with and X, then put in the boiling water for 30 seconds or until the skin around the X starts to peel back. Remove the tomatoes, cool, peel, squeeze out the seeds and discard, then chop the tomatoes and reserve. You can also use canned, peeled tomatoes.

Huitlacoche Mixture

• In a saute pan, heat the lard or oil and add the garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes on low until golden, then add the huitlacoche and cook, mashing the mixture up with the back of a spoon as it cooks, until the pan is nearly dry. Season the mixture with salt to taste, add the cilantro and reserve.
• (Optional) crush the huitlacoche with a mallet. Traditionally this is done using a matate before cooking, but I find it easier to do in the pan.

Finishing and Serving

• To make the quesadilla, grease a large pan, such as a 12 inch cast iron skillet. Add the tortilla and warm it on both sides for a moment or two until pliable on medium heat, then add the cheese and roughly ½ -¾ cup of the huitlacoche mixture.
• I like to add a little more cheese around the edge of the tortilla to get a crisp, brown cheese skirt. When the cheese has started to melt, fold the quesadilla in half, pressing it down gently to help it brown evenly.
• Add some extra oil if the pan looks dry. Peak under the quesadilla to check on it’s color, when one side is browned, flip it, pressing down gently again, and adding a teaspoon of oil if needed, cooking until the other side is golden brown and crisp.
• When both sides are brown and crisp, remove the quesadilla to a cutting board, cut into 4 wedges, sprinkle with cilantro and serve with your favorite accompaniments.

Video

Notes

If using frozen huitlacoche there will be a lot of juice to cook down. To ensure a thick mixture that won't make the tortillas soggy, you can thicken the mixture with a spoonful of cornmeal. 

Tinned or frozen huitlacoche has a much stronger flavor than fresh. If you find the flavor too strong for you, mixing in pureed black beans is a great way to mellow the flavor a bit. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1quesadilla | Calories: 34kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 37mg | Potassium: 89mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 236IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 0.1mg