Chef Lupita
Enchiladas Mineras de Guanajuato
Guanajuato's mining-city enchiladas are corn tortillas dipped in guajillo salsa, fried in manteca, filled with queso fresco, and served with papa, zanahoria, chicken, and chiles en escabeche.
Culinary Explorer
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Quesadillas de Huitlacoche Queretanas
Created by
Queretaro's Bajio quesadillas, made with fresh corn masa and a dark huitlacoche filling cooked with cebolla, ajo, chile serrano, epazote, and just enough queso to hold the fold.
Sandwiches & Wraps
Mexican
Weeknight
Quick Meal
Comfort Food
30 min
Active Time
25 min cook•55 min total
Yield8 quesadillas
Queretaro sits in the Bajio, between dry hills, old haciendas, and milpas that wake up properly when the rains arrive. These quesadillas belong to that season. Huitlacoche is not a novelty and it is not a garnish. It is the black corn fungus that the milpa gives you when the weather decides, and a good cook knows not to waste it.
The filling is direct: cebolla, ajo, chile serrano, huitlacoche, epazote, salt. The epazote matters. It cuts through the earthy, almost mushroom-dark flavor of the huitlacoche and tells you this is central Mexico, not some polite mushroom turnover. Use fresh masa, press the tortillas by hand, and cook them on a comal until the surface freckles and the edges seal. Flour tortillas are a northern tradition. Here you use corn. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
I learned a version like this from a woman near Amealco who sold blue-corn tortillas wrapped in a woven servilleta, with a cazuela of huitlacoche kept warm beside the comal. She used a spoonful of manteca to start the filling and said the same thing my mother wrote in her notebook about quesadillas: the tortilla has to taste like corn before the filling ever touches it. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
Huitlacoche, the edible fungus Ustilago maydis, has been eaten in central Mexican milpa communities since pre-Columbian times, especially during the rainy season when corn ears swell and the fungus develops naturally. In the Bajio, including Queretaro, huitlacoche entered market cooking through masa-based antojitos such as quesadillas, tlacoyos, and gorditas, where a small amount of filling could feed many people well. The modern restaurant habit of treating huitlacoche as luxury is recent; in the milpa it was first practical food, gathered when the corn itself offered it.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh masa for tortillas
Quantity
1 pound
kosher salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste
warm water
Quantity
2 to 4 tablespoons
as needed to soften the masa
manteca de cerdo
Quantity
2 tablespoons
white onion
Quantity
1/2 medium
finely chopped
garlic cloves
Quantity
2
finely chopped
fresh chile serrano
Quantity
1
finely chopped
fresh huitlacoche
Quantity
12 ounces
roughly chopped
fresh epazote leaves
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
queso Oaxaca or queso de hebra
Quantity
1/2 cup
pulled into thin strands
salsa de chile serrano or salsa martajada (optional)
Quantity
for serving
lime halves (optional)
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh masa for tortillas | 1 pound |
| kosher salt | 1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| warm wateras needed to soften the masa | 2 to 4 tablespoons |
| manteca de cerdo | 2 tablespoons |
| white onionfinely chopped | 1/2 medium |
| garlic clovesfinely chopped | 2 |
| fresh chile serranofinely chopped | 1 |
| fresh huitlacocheroughly chopped | 12 ounces |
| fresh epazote leaveschopped | 2 tablespoons |
| queso Oaxaca or queso de hebrapulled into thin strands | 1/2 cup |
| salsa de chile serrano or salsa martajada (optional) | for serving |
| lime halves (optional) | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Cast iron comal
- •Tortilla press lined with plastic
- •Clay cazuela or heavy skillet
- •Woven cotton servilleta for holding the masa and tortillas
Instructions
- 1
Season the masa
Put the fresh masa in a bowl and knead in the salt. Pinch it. If the edges crack badly when you press it between your fingers, add warm water one tablespoon at a time. The masa should feel soft, like a good earlobe, not sticky and not dry. Dry masa breaks on the comal and spills your filling. No me vengas con atajos.
- 2
Start the filling
Melt the manteca de cerdo in a clay cazuela or heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the white onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until it turns translucent and smells sweet. Add the garlic and chile serrano and cook for 1 minute more. The garlic should soften, not brown. Burned garlic turns bitter and then the whole filling pays for your impatience.
- 3
Cook the huitlacoche
Add the huitlacoche and a good pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, for 8 to 10 minutes, until it darkens to a glossy black-purple and the liquid thickens instead of running across the pan. Stir in the epazote during the last minute. Epazote goes at the end because its flavor is sharp and green. Cook it too long and it disappears.
Fresh huitlacoche is best in the rainy season. If you only find canned huitlacoche, drain it well and cook it harder in the manteca so it loses the tinny taste. That is a compromise, not an upgrade. - 4
Press the tortillas
Divide the masa into 8 balls, about 2 ounces each. Line a tortilla press with plastic cut from a clean food bag. Press each ball into a tortilla about 5 1/2 inches wide. Keep the pressed tortillas covered with a damp cloth while you work so they do not dry at the edges.
- 5
Fill and fold
Place 2 tablespoons of huitlacoche filling on one half of each raw tortilla. Add a few strands of queso Oaxaca or queso de hebra. Do not bury the huitlacoche under cheese. The cheese is there to bind the filling, not to take over. Fold the tortilla over and press the edges gently to seal.
- 6
Cook on comal
Heat a cast iron comal over medium. Lay the quesadillas on the hot surface without crowding. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, turning once or twice, until the masa is cooked through, the surface has toasted brown freckles, and the sealed edge feels firm. If the comal is too hot, the outside spots before the masa cooks inside. Lower the heat and let the corn do its work.
- 7
Serve immediately
Serve the quesadillas hot from the comal with salsa de chile serrano or salsa martajada and lime halves on the side. Do not drown them. The filling is the point: huitlacoche, epazote, corn, and the faint richness of manteca. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
Chef Tips
- •Buy huitlacoche in season, during the rainy months, from a market vendor who sells corn, squash blossoms, and quelites. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado. They know which ears are fresh and which ones sat too long.
- •The huitlacoche should smell earthy and sweet, never sour. If it smells fermented or slimy, leave it. You can have perfect technique and bad huitlacoche and you will still get a bad quesadilla.
- •Queso Oaxaca is useful because it melts without making a puddle. Use a light hand. A quesadilla de huitlacoche is not a cheese delivery system.
- •If you have blue corn masa from the Bajio or central highlands, use it. The deeper corn flavor stands up beautifully to huitlacoche. White masa works too, but it will taste gentler.
Advance Preparation
- •The huitlacoche filling can be cooked one day ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm it in a spoonful of manteca before filling the quesadillas so the texture loosens without turning watery.
- •The masa should be pressed and cooked the same day. Fresh tortillas are the structure of the dish, and old masa cracks when folded.
- •Keep cooked quesadillas wrapped in a cloth for no more than 15 minutes. After that, the masa softens too much and loses the comal texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 140g)
Calories
205 calories
Total Fat
6 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
10 mg
Sodium
415 mg
Total Carbohydrates
32 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
5 g
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