Cooking huitlacoche to make a simple taco filling is probably one of my favorite vegetarian tacos. It's also a very traditional recipe for huitlacoche, and you can find all kinds of versions of it online, from all over Mexico and the surrounding area.
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Traditionally, the corn fungus is gathered and typically stewed with onions, garlic, jalapeno, and possibly some tomato. Some versions crush everything together in a metate (a semi-flat basalt grinding stone) beforehand, which makes it into a sort of smooth puree, which can be good too. The finished juicy, mushroomy goodness is an all-purpose taco filling, great in tacos, quesadillas, spooned on top of sopes or masa cakes, etc.
This version is nothing fancy, I wanted to really honor the huitlacoche and present it in a way that you'd find on a street corner, or a small taqueria, so it's nothing more than huitlacoche cooked with onions, garlic, tomato, and cilantro.
Epazote is traditionally added too (and I recommend it) but is optional. If you like it hot, you can add some jalapenos as some do, but I prefer to serve it with some spicy salsa on the side for the pop of red color, since, without it, the plate can look a little drab.
Fresh or frozen huitlacoche is fine here. If you want to use huitlacoche from a can, you can, but it isn't my first choice as all the products I've tried are already seasoned, and typically contain more un-colonized field corn than I like in my huitlacoche.
Traditional Huitlacoche Tacos
Equipment
- 1 10 inch saute pan
Ingredients
Basic Huitlacoche Filling
- 8 oz huitlacoche kernals fresh or frozen
- 1 15 can whole peeled tomatoes or 1 lb fresh tomatoes
- 1 small 5 oz white onion, diced ¼ inch
- 1 large clove garlic finely chopped or grated
- 1 Handful Cilantro 2 Tablespoons chopped
- 3-4 leaves fresh epazote torn, optional
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons lard or cooking oil
- 1 small jalapeno halved, seeded and cut into thin slices
For serving as tacos
- Grated queso chihuahua or your favorite Mexican cheese, such as queso fresco
- Your favorite salsa
- Warm corn tortillas
Instructions
Using canned tomatoes
- Remove the tomatoes from the can, reserving the juice. Holding the tomatoes over a bowl in the sink, squeeze out the seeds, reserving the tomatoes. Discard the seeds. Chop the tomatoes roughly, combine back with the juice, and reserve.
Using fresh tomatoes
- Cut the tomatoes into ½ inch slices, then into cubes and reserve.
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- In a large stainless steel saute pan, cook the garlic in the oil until light golden and aromatic. Add the onion to the pan and cook for a minute or two, then add the huitlacoche and a pinch of salt, cook, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes, or until the huitlacoche has started to release some juice.
- Continue cooking the huitlacoche until the pan is nearly dry. Add the tomatoes and their juice, then cook, uncovered, until the pan seems nearly dry.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, stirring once during the process, until you have a thick mushroom, tomato and onion pulp.
- Stir in the cilantro and epazote, if using. Double check the seasoning for salt and adjust as needed, then allow to cool for a minute or two, and serve with warm corn tortillas, cheese and salsa, or your favorite condiments.
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