Quesadillas de Huitlacoche~Corn Truffle Quesadilllas

Quesadillas, just like tacos were prepared often in my house while I was growing up. And the most traditional and authentic Mexican quesadillas are prepared with corn tortillas. The classic Mendez quesadilla was filled with melted monterey jack cheese in between two stacked corn tortillas. it was fried in a little oil until the cheese melted and then topped with Mom’s tomatillo salsa! Still the best, still my favorite quesadilla of all time.

For this food blogger, keeping up with social media, can be a bit much certain days. But it’s a must to keep things fresh and current and to be consistent with your post. And because I find myself continuously inspired by delicious ingredients, it’s easy to develop new dishes most days. And the dishes may not always be new to everyone, but  they are new to me. I recently was sharing a dried chile post on Instagram and ended up making a connection with Lupita’s Brand out of Houston, Texas. As it happens they recently opened a new location in Houston and specialize in Mexican food products. It was my lucky day! 

 

I was just commenting to a friend on how it could be difficult to find chile ancho, my favorite dried chile of them all. Long story short, the nice people at Lupita’s Brand offered me a few of their more popular items to try out. The dried chiles I am very familiar with. The other two items were huitlacoche(corn truffle) and flor de calabaza(pumpkin flowers), also known as squash blossoms. Both of those ingredients are next to impossible to find where I live. My only experience with huitlacoche was when I ate some quesadillas while I was in Monterrey back in 2011. They were tasty! Someone sent me a small can of them once. Not anything like what I tasted in Mexico. The flor de calabaza or squash blossoms, I have never tried, but really wanted to try for a long time.  Today’s blog post, I share with you my recipe for Qusadillas de Huitlacoche(Corn Truffle Quesadillas). I just have to say, that the huitlacoche out of a jar is 100 times tastier than the canned version. Only a few days went by before I was on the phone placing an order with Lupita’s Brand for supplies. Their customer service was excellent and I look forward to trying many of their products in the near future. Go to the end of the post to find the link to Lupita’s Brand and discover some of their quality products. This is not a sponsored post and I did not collaborate with Lupitas brand. All opinions are my own. #foodieforlife #mexicanfood #blupitas 

 

 

Elote con Rajas en Vinagre(Pickled Corn Relish with Poblanos)

Ingredients

2 ears of fresh corn, remove kernals
1 large poblano(next time use 2)
1/2 sweet onion, reserve other half for huitlacoche
2 cloves garlic, skins on
1/4 cup Grapeseed oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions

 

Steam the corn for 3 minutes in the microwave, cover and set aside.
Dry roast the poblano, onion and garlic on the comal or skillet  at medium heat, for 20 minutes. Remove the garlic after 15 minutes, set aside.

Peel and clean poblano, slice into strip.  Slice or dice onion and  combine with poblano. Remove skins from garlic and mash the garlic into a paste.  Add into bowl with corn.

Heat oil to medium heat. Add the poblano, onion, garlic and corn. Saute for a minute. Add in remaining ingredients and cook for another 2 minutes. Let cool in pan at room temperature. Taste for salt.

 

 

 

Huitlacoche Guisado(Corn Truffle Filling)

Ingredients

Grapeseed oil
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 large serrano or jalpeño, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried epazote or 1 tablespoon fresh
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano, crushed

 

Directions

One 8 oz jar of Lupita’s brand huitlacoche
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a skillet, at medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the onion, serrano(or jalapeño) and garlic. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Saute for 6-8 minutes, stirring often.  Add in the remaining ingredients. Stir well to combine. Cook at a low simmer for 10 minutes. Taste for salt.

 

 

 

Quesadillas de Huitlacoche

 

You Will Need

1 Recipe for huitlacoche filling, see above
1 full cup shredded Oaxaca, string cheese or Chihuahua cheese
8 homemade  or store bought corn tortillas(see link below)

 

Directions

 

Preheat comal or large griddle pan to medium heat for 5 minutes. Brush one side of tortillas with oil, set aside. Lay tortillas on hot surface and cook for 45 to 50 seconds. Add cheese to one side of tortilla, along with 2 tablespoons of huitlacoche filling. Fold over to form a taco shape. For soft queadillas, flip and cook just until cheese melts. For crispy, continue cooking until tortilla browns, turning as needed. Serve with corn relish(elote con rajas) and your favorite salsa. Yields 4 servings.

 

Tips~ To keep quesadillas warm, I line a covered pan or dish with a clean kitchen towel. As I cook the quesadillas, I place them in between the towel and cover the pan. Although this is not ideal if you prefer a crispy shell.

 

 

Just a few of the quality ingredients offered my Lupita’s Brand. Chile ancho, chile guajillo, huitlacoche and flor de calabaza. 

 

 

My next recipe using the Lupita’s brand will be Flor de Calabaza! I can’t wait! The wheels are spining, stay tuned. 

If you are up to it and really want to enjoy a more authentic flavor of Quesadillas de Huitlacoche, click onto the picture above to see full recipe on how to prepare the homemade corn tortillas.