Tlayuda de la Sierra Norte con Hongos y Quelites

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Clay comal or large cast iron skillet (at least 12 inches for the tlayuda)
• •Molcajete or blender for the salsa
• •Medium skillet for the beans and the filling
• •Bean masher or the back of a sturdy wooden spoon
• •Wide spatula for pressing and flipping the folded tlayuda

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast chiles and garlic for salsa

   Heat a dry clay comal or heavy skillet over medium. Lay the four dried chile pasilla oaxaqueno flat on the surface and toast for about 20 seconds per side, pressing gently with a spatula. They should puff, darken one shade, and fill the kitchen with a sharp, smoky smell that is unmistakably Oaxacan. Do not let them blacken. Set them aside. On the same comal, toast the two unpeeled garlic cloves, rolling them every minute or so, until the skins are charred in spots and the garlic inside is soft, about 8 minutes. Peel the garlic when cool enough to handle.

   Chile pasilla oaxaqueno is already smoke-dried, so it toasts faster than other dried chiles. Watch it. The line between toasted and burned is about five seconds, and burned pasilla oaxaqueno turns the salsa acrid.
2. 2

   Grind the salsa de pasilla

   Tear the toasted chiles into pieces, discarding the stems. Place them in a molcajete or a blender with the peeled roasted garlic, the salt, and three tablespoons of water. Grind or blend into a rough, thick paste. This is not a smooth salsa. It should have texture, grit, and a deep smokiness that hits the back of the throat. Taste it. If it needs more salt, add it now. If it needs more water to loosen, add a tablespoon at a time. You want it spreadable, not pourable. Set it aside.

   A molcajete gives this salsa the right texture: rough, uneven, with tiny pieces of chile skin that catch on the tongue. A blender works if you pulse it short and resist the urge to make it smooth. Smooth kills the character of this salsa.
3. 3

   Fry the black bean paste

   In a medium skillet, melt one tablespoon of asiento over medium heat. Add the cooked frijoles negros and their reserved cooking liquid. Mash them with the back of a wooden spoon or a bean masher as they cook, working them until the paste is thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon, about 8 to 10 minutes. The asiento gives the beans a depth that vegetable oil never will. Season with salt to taste. The paste should be assertive, not bland. Set it aside and keep it warm.

4. 4

   Cook the hongos and quelites

   Wipe the skillet clean and melt one tablespoon of asiento over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onion and cook for two minutes until it softens. Add the chopped garlic and stir for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the torn mushrooms in a single layer as much as you can. Let them sit undisturbed for two minutes so they sear and release their liquid. The Sierra Norte mushrooms have a woodsy, earthy smell that fills the pan. When the liquid cooks off and the edges start to brown, add the chopped quelites and the epazote leaves. Stir everything together and cook for three more minutes, until the greens wilt completely. Add the torn flor de calabaza in the last minute. It needs almost no cooking. Season with salt. The filling should taste like the forest and the milpa together on a spoon.

   Do not wash the mushrooms under running water. Wipe them clean with a damp cloth or brush off the dirt with your fingers. Wild mushrooms are sponges. Soak them and they will steam in the pan instead of browning.
5. 5

   Prepare and spread the tlayuda base

   Place one tlayuda tortilla on a dry comal over medium-low heat. Let it warm for one minute on each side until it becomes pliable enough to fold without cracking but still holds some stiffness. Spread a thin layer of asiento across the entire surface, about one half tablespoon per tlayuda. The asiento should melt into the tortilla on contact. Then spread a generous layer of the bean paste over one half of the tortilla, covering it edge to edge. The asiento is the first layer of flavor and the seal that keeps the tortilla crisp. The bean paste is the mortar that holds everything together.

   Asiento is not clean white manteca. It is the dark sediment that settles at the bottom of the lard-rendering pot, rich with pork protein and caramelized bits. If you cannot find asiento at a Mexican market, you can approximate it by cooking manteca de cerdo over low heat with a crushed garlic clove and a pinch of salt until it turns golden and develops a toasted-pork smell. Strain out the garlic. It is not asiento, but it is closer than plain lard.
6. 6

   Fill, fold, and toast

   Over the bean paste, lay a generous handful of the quesillo strings, then pile the mushroom and quelite filling on top. Fold the bare half of the tlayuda over the filled half and press down gently with your hand or a spatula. Increase the heat to medium. Toast the folded tlayuda for two to three minutes per side, pressing occasionally, until the tortilla is deeply charred in spots and the quesillo has softened and begun to pull. You will hear the tortilla crackle against the comal. The cheese should be melted but not running out the sides. Repeat with the remaining three tlayudas.

7. 7

   Serve with the salsa

   Transfer each tlayuda to a cutting board and cut into halves or leave whole. Serve immediately with the salsa de chile pasilla oaxaqueno on the side and lime wedges at the table. The salsa goes on by the spoonful, as much or as little as the eater wants. The first bite should be crisp tortilla, then the smoky asiento, then the earthy beans, then the mushrooms and greens, then the pull of the cheese. That is the Sierra Norte on a plate. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •True tlayuda tortillas are made by specialized tortilleras in Oaxaca who hand-pat the masa very thin and very wide, then dry them slowly on a clay comal over low heat until they become leathery and partially crisp. If you live outside Mexico, look for them at Oaxacan markets or order them dried and shipped. In a pinch, the largest corn tortillas you can find will work, but they will not have the same texture or the faint smokiness of a real tlayuda. Know what you are compromising.
• •The mushroom season in the Sierra Norte runs from June through September, when the rains come and the cloud forests erupt with fungi. If you are making this outside of season or outside of Oaxaca, oyster mushrooms give you the closest texture and chanterelles the closest earthy perfume. Do not use button mushrooms. They taste like nothing and they water-log the filling.
• •Quelites is a broad term for wild greens gathered from the milpa and the hillsides. Quintonil, the young leaves of the amaranth plant, is the most common in the Sierra Norte. If you can find amaranth greens at a farmers market, use them. If not, young spinach or lamb's quarters will stand in. But ask the senoras at your local mercado first. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado.
• •Asiento is sold by the kilo at Oaxacan markets, usually from the same vendors who sell manteca de cerdo. Outside Oaxaca, look for it in Mexican grocery stores or carnecerias that render their own lard. It should be dark, granular, and smell like toasted pork. If it is pale and smooth, that is manteca, not asiento.

Advance Preparation

• •The salsa de chile pasilla oaxaqueno can be made up to three days ahead and refrigerated. The smokiness deepens as it sits.
• •The black bean paste can be made one day ahead and reheated in a skillet with a splash of water to loosen it. It thickens as it cools.
• •The mushroom and quelite filling is best made the same day. Quelites lose their brightness if held overnight, and the mushrooms turn rubbery when reheated. Cook the filling while the comal heats.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 410g)