Huitlacoche
For farmers, corn smut is bad. It is a fungus that takes over a corn kernel and grows to the size of maybe an acorn. This is not what you want to see when you husk an ear of corn...unless you want to make huitlacoche. Huitlacoche is a delicacy in Mexico where it is eaten in tortillas, quesadillas, and soups. I had never eaten it before, so my neighbor Ben and I waited eagerly for the corn on the farm to grow, hoping that some would be infected with corn smut.
And there was some! In the picture above, it has already been plucked off the corn cob.
And so the process of preparing huitlacoche tacos began. We chopped the corn smut and sauteed it in a pan with onion, garlic, and olive oil. It turns everything rather black, which might seem strange and scary, but really, if you eat mushrooms, this is just another variety of mushroom. Anyway, it seemed appropriate to pair the huitlacoche with a homemade corn tortilla and some fresh sweet corn because in a sense this made for three versions of corn all in one. I also ate it with my chevre cheese.
It was an exciting new taste and definitely something I would eat again if I had the chance.
And there was some! In the picture above, it has already been plucked off the corn cob.
And so the process of preparing huitlacoche tacos began. We chopped the corn smut and sauteed it in a pan with onion, garlic, and olive oil. It turns everything rather black, which might seem strange and scary, but really, if you eat mushrooms, this is just another variety of mushroom. Anyway, it seemed appropriate to pair the huitlacoche with a homemade corn tortilla and some fresh sweet corn because in a sense this made for three versions of corn all in one. I also ate it with my chevre cheese.
It was an exciting new taste and definitely something I would eat again if I had the chance.
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