Chayote
Truffle (I Know What It Looks Like...)
I was rummaging through my pantry, doing a little Sunday cleaning, when I discovered my last can of Huitlacoche. Known variously as corn truffle (classy) or corn smut (dirty), it's the black fungus that grows inside an ear of corn. Like most fungi, huitlacoche takes some getting used to; but like the humble button mushroom ($4/lb. at the supermarket). or the exotic white truffle ($600/ounce at Dean & Deluca), once you've eaten it, its origins won't matter anymore. It is very earthy, and it tastes a little like something that has spoiled, but in a way similar to the truffle, which has a rotten egg aroma. I also had some Halloumi cheese lying around (it's similar to Mexican frying cheese), so I thought I'd grate some of that on top. The butternut squash is a fall classic-just wrap in foil and bake until it's soft-I also roasted some mushrooms. I like to mix the raw and the cooked, so the chayote I diced and left raw, and the raw avocado smooths out the serrano peppers. Place it all in a couple of warm tortillas, and top with cilantro. Oddly, I had already eaten my fill of Mexican food at 'brunch' at my favorite undiscovered Mexican restaurant in Miami, so I was able to stop at one huitlacoche taco for dinner. By the way, brunch to me just means breakfast with booze. Maybe that goes for everyone?
Butternut Squash
Huitlacoche Tacos...