Quesadillas de Hongos Silvestres con Epazote

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide cast iron comal or 12-inch cast iron skillet
• •Tortilla press (optional, you can press by hand)
• •Wide heavy skillet for the mushroom filling
• •High-powered blender for the salsa
• •Damp cotton towel for covering the masa

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the salsa verde cruda

   Drop the husked tomatillos and the two stemmed chiles serrano into a blender with the cilantro, the quarter onion, the salt, and two tablespoons of water. Blend until smooth but not airy. Taste it. It should be tart and sharp with a clean green heat. Set it aside. This salsa is raw on purpose. Cooking it would soften the acidity and you need that brightness to cut through the richness of the lard and the cheese.

   If your tomatillos are very acidic, add a pinch more salt. If they are bland and pale, they are not in season. Wait for the green ones with tight husks that feel sticky when you peel them.
2. 2

   Clean the mushrooms

   Do not wash your mushrooms under running water. Wild mushrooms are sponges and they will absorb every drop and then weep it back into the pan. Use a damp cloth or a soft brush to wipe off any dirt. If they are very dirty, a quick rinse and an immediate pat dry. Tear larger mushrooms into bite-sized pieces by hand. Smaller ones can stay whole. The irregular shapes catch the lard and the garlic in the pan better than a clean knife cut.

   If you are using cultivated mushrooms because it is not rainy season, a mix of oyster mushrooms and cremini will give you decent body and flavor. It is a compromise, not an upgrade. You will know the difference if you have ever eaten the real thing.
3. 3

   Cook the mushroom filling

   Heat the lard in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add the diced onion and cook until it turns translucent, about two minutes. Add the garlic and the chopped chile serrano. Stir for thirty seconds, until the garlic smells sharp but has not browned. Now add all the mushrooms at once. They will sizzle and then seem to crowd the pan. Do not stir constantly. Let them sit and make contact with the hot surface. That is where the color comes from. After three or four minutes, they will have released their liquid. Keep cooking until that liquid evaporates and the mushrooms start to brown at the edges, another five minutes or so.

   La manteca es el sabor. The lard gives the mushrooms a richness that oil cannot replicate. If someone tells you to use olive oil here, they have not eaten this dish in a Mexican market.
4. 4

   Add the epazote

   When the mushrooms are browned and the pan is nearly dry, add the chopped epazote and stir it through. Cook for one minute, just until the leaves wilt and the smell hits you: green, pungent, slightly resinous, like nothing else in the herb world. Season with salt to taste. Pull the pan off the heat. The filling should be concentrated, not wet. Wet filling makes soggy quesadillas. Asi se hace y punto.

   Epazote goes in at the end. It loses its character if you cook it too long. You want the full force of that flavor in the finished filling, not a ghost of it.
5. 5

   Prepare the masa

   If you are using fresh masa from a tortilleria, knead it in a bowl for a minute until it is smooth and pliable. If it cracks at the edges when you press it, it is too dry. Add water a teaspoon at a time and knead until it holds together without sticking to your hands. If you are using masa harina, combine it with the warm water and knead for two to three minutes until the texture is like soft clay. Cover the masa with a damp towel while you work. It dries out fast.

   Fresh masa from a tortilleria that nixtamalizes its own corn is the first choice. Masa harina is the backup. The flavor difference is real, like the difference between fresh bread and toast. But masa harina will still give you a good quesadilla if you handle it right.
6. 6

   Form the quesadillas

   Pinch off a ball of masa about the size of a golf ball, roughly 60 grams. Press it between your palms or use a tortilla press lined with plastic to flatten it into an oval about five inches long and a quarter inch thick. These are not tortillas. They are slightly thicker, slightly oval, because they need to hold the filling without breaking. Place a spoonful of mushroom filling on one half and lay a few strips of quesillo over the mushrooms. Fold the masa over and press the edges together with your fingers to seal. The seal matters. If it opens on the comal, you lose the cheese.

   Work with wet hands to keep the masa from sticking. Keep the remaining masa under the damp towel at all times. Twelve quesadillas, twelve golf balls. Set them on a sheet of parchment or plastic as you go.
7. 7

   Cook on the comal

   Heat a comal or a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. No oil on the surface. Place the quesadillas seam side down and cook for three to four minutes. You will hear a faint sizzle where the masa touches the hot iron. When the bottom is set and shows golden brown spots, flip carefully with a thin spatula. Cook the other side for another three to four minutes until it too is golden and firm. The masa should be lightly crisp on the outside and tender inside. The cheese should be melted and pulling in strings when you tear one open.

   If you prefer them fried, as the quesadilla stands in many Mexico City markets do, pour half an inch of vegetable oil or lard into a deep skillet and fry at 350F for two minutes per side until golden and blistered. Drain on paper. Both versions are correct. The comal version is the home kitchen. The fried version is the market.
8. 8

   Serve immediately

   Serve the quesadillas the moment they come off the comal, two or three per plate, with the salsa verde cruda on the side and extra epazote leaves if you have them. They do not wait. The masa stiffens and the cheese solidifies. This is food eaten standing at a market stall or passed across the kitchen table within minutes of coming off the heat. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •During rainy season, June through October, the tianguis and mercados of Mexico City and the Estado de Mexico sell wild mushrooms by the kilo. Ask the senoras at the stalls which ones are best for quesadillas. They will tell you. They know more about mushrooms than any field guide. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado.
• •Quesillo, the Oaxacan string cheese, is the right cheese for this. You can find it at Mexican groceries in the US, sometimes labeled queso Oaxaca. If you cannot find it, use a good whole-milk mozzarella, pulled into strips. It is a compromise, not a replacement. The quesillo has a tang and a pull that mozzarella only approximates.
• •Do not overfill the quesadillas. Two tablespoons of filling and a few strips of cheese per quesadilla. More than that and they will not seal, and unsealed quesadillas leak their filling onto the comal. Then you have a mess and no quesadilla.
• •The masa should feel like soft modeling clay: smooth, pliable, no cracks. If it cracks, it is too dry. If it sticks to everything, it is too wet. This is a feel you develop with practice. Your first batch will teach you more than any recipe can.

Advance Preparation

• •The mushroom filling can be made up to one day ahead and refrigerated. Reheat gently in a skillet before filling the quesadillas. The epazote flavor will mellow slightly overnight, so taste and add a few fresh leaves when you reheat if you have them.
• •The salsa verde cruda should be made the same day. It dulls in color and sharpness after more than six hours in the refrigerator.
• •The masa cannot wait. Fresh masa from a tortilleria should be used within hours of buying it. Masa harina dough should be formed immediately after kneading. Do not make the dough ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 220g)