About Huitlacoche (or cuitlacoche) Soup

In Shallows of the Sun, the second book in the Anna Diehl/Commander Cortez series, Anna orders cuitlacoche (or huitlacoche) soup for her lunch with Cortez. She learns that the black fungus is the 'corn smut' that sometimes invaded her father's corn field (as it did my father's).

Never as a youngster picking corn in the field to sell at our vegetable stand, would I have dreamed of eating the fungus, let alone loving it!

However, the cream of cuitlacoche soup that I experienced in Tlaxcala was heavenly. You can find recipes on the web as well as places to purchase cans of cuitlacoche (which is a lovely Aztec word meaning 'raven's excrement'). See, in particular: www.gourmetsleuth.com/huitlacoche.htm

Below, I've posted a recipe for a Pseudo-Cuitlacoche Soup that I devised. The flavor is milder and lacks the distinctive musky taste of the true Mexican truffle, but it gets you close to the true experience. The taste (and color of the soup) is more authentic if you use mushrooms that are starting to brown, so don't overlook those supermarket bargains!

Pseudo Cream of Huitlacoche Soup

2 T. butter
1/2 lb. mushrooms, chopped
1/4 C. sweet onion, chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
1 C. cooked corn (frozen or canned)
[1/2 tsp. sugar (scant) if using frozen corn; omit for canned corn]
2 C. chicken broth (or vegetable broth or water)

Melt butter in 2 or 3 qt. pan being careful not to burn. Saute mushrooms, onion and garlic in the butter for about 3 minutes. Remove about 1/4 C. mushroom pieces, chop and set aside. Add corn and sugar and saute 2 minutes more. Add broth and simmer for 20-30 minutes until vegetables are soft enough to puree [especially see that the corn is very soft]. Puree vegetables in blender with part of the liquid. Add puree plus remaining liquid to white sauce and bring to bubbling simmer before serving.

Meanwhile make the following white sauce:

2 T. butter
1 T. flour
1 C. milk (I use Lactaid. Besides being digestible, it adds a hint more of sweetness)

Melt butter in large frying pan being careful not to burn. Stir in flour and milk, stirring until sauce is smooth and thickened. Add broth and puree to white sauce and stir until blended. Add reserved mushroom pieces, stir and serve.