Our globe-trotting chef brings us a popular Guatemalan dish
We all need a little more smut in our lives. Dark as night and musky as wet earth, the allure of fresh smut is the allure of a forbidden fruit. The first time I saw smut I was naturally curious.
My body was instinctively drawn in for just a taste, while my brain filled my head with a thousand voices, all screaming warnings about fungus and the dangers of putting something that looks like that in my mouth.
But then I remembered that people have been consuming smut for centuries, maybe even longer. I also remembered that people have filthy minds and I have to be sure and emphasize I’m talking about corn smut, Mexican truffles, the devil’s corn, maize mushrooms, goitre du mais, or simply—huitlacoche.
Huitlacoche is a fungus, the ustilago maydis fungus to be specific. But it isn’t a mushroom, despite marketing attempts by people with better ideas than the name “corn smut.” It’s a pathogenic fungus that infects corn, causing the kernels to swell up into huge, mutant, grey and black galls that resemble those Kanku’s fried chicken livers you left mummifying in the trunk of your car last winter.
As this tasty fungal infection takes over the stalk, the ear of corn becomes as useless as the share button on a YouPorn video, but the huitlacoche actually forces a metabolic process that improves on the health benefits of plain ‘ole uninfected corn, creating new and healthier nutrients such as the essential amino acid lysine, as well as lots of fiber and protein.
The Aztecs used huitlacoche for centuries and the soft, velvety fungus is still widely recognized as a delicacy in Mexico. But for some reason, infected, grey, mutated, corn kernels have had a hard time catching on in the States.
The United States has spent billions of dollars to thwart the growth of the fungus, but recently, the specialty mushroom market and a growing number of chefs have begun to show people that these adorable, ebony pustules are not only edible, but rich in flavor and potential.
While huitlacoche isn’t technically a mushroom, it has that same earthy, fungal flavor and texture so it pairs well with ingredients that you would normally pair with mushrooms. But huitlacoche also has the sweetness of corn and a whisper of smokiness, so it’s much more than just an exotic mushroom replacement.
Sauté it with onion, garlic, and chilies to make an inky mixture that you can use in everything from tacos to tamales to omelets. Huitlacoche quesadillas are popular all over central and southern Mexico, folding the fungus into a tortilla with melted cheese and topped with salsa.
Huitlacoche sautés easily, absorbs liquid well, and is a forgiving ingredient to cook with. If you can get fresh from a farmer, thank the fungus gods and snatch it up immediately, but it is available in cans and jars if the smut gods do not shine down on you today.
Visit your local carniceria and surprise your family with huitlacoche tonight. Smut—it’s what’s for dinner!
Ingredients
- 2 fresh poblano chiles
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 1 cup oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1 ½ cups fresh huitlacoche, roughly chopped or a 6 ounce can, drained and rinsed Salt
- 2 to 3 tbsp epazote leaves, roughly chopped
- Queso Oaxaca or queso Añejo, shredded for topping
- 12 corn tortillas
Instructions
Coat the chiles with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and roast directly over a gas flame for about 5 minutes or four inches below a very hot broiler for about 10 minutes—until blackened on all sides.
Place cooked chiles into a paper sack and close, or a bowl covered with plastic wrap, or a sealed plastic container for about five minutes to help the skin release from the flesh. Peel, remove the stem and seeds then chop into ¼-inch pieces.
In a large skillet, heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until lightly browned. Stir in the garlic and cook about two more minutes.
Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the tomato and cook until the tomato is tender and the juices have reduced to a saucelike consistency.
Add the poblanos, huitlacoche and mushrooms to the tomato mixture. Simmer, stirring often, until the mixture is reduced and thick—about 10 minutes.
Season with salt to taste, and mix in the epazote. Spoon the mixture into warm corn tortillas and top with shredded queso añejo or Oaxaca.
Mike McJunkin is a native Chattanoogan who has traveled abroad extensively, trained chefs, and owned and operated restaurants. Join him on Facebook at facebook.com/SushiAndBiscuits