Perched on the 11th floor of The Penny (288 N 8th St.), a small boutique hotel in Williamsburg, is elNico, a rooftop bar and restaurant that serves Mexican cuisine from executive chef Fernanda Serrano.
Executive chef Fernanda Serrano is a Mexico City native who has worked at some of the world’s best restaurants including Pujol in Mexico City and Cosme in New York. For this week’s addition to the Community Cookbook, the experienced chef has shared her recipe for Huitlacoche Sopes.
“The inspiration behind the Huitlacoche Sope comes from the quesadilla stands in the markets in Mexico. I have a favorite stand back home where the owner has different filling options, with huitlacoche and squash blossom being my favorites,” Chef Serrano said.
“Creating this dish is also an opportunity to introduce people outside of Mexico to this ingredient that is not well known. Huitlacoche, as we know, is a corn fungus that feeds from the corn and grows until it covers it completely. I don’t want people to think it is something inedible because of the grey-black appearance or its classification as a fungus, because in reality it is considered the Mexican truffle, and it is delicious.”
After indulging in Chef Serrano’s huitlacoche sopes, the team at The Penny suggests joining the Penny Run Club which meets every Thursday at 7 p.m. for local jaunts through Williamsburg and Greenpoint.
Learn how to make Chef Serrano’s Huitlacoche Sopes below and find last week’s Community Cookbook recipe here.
elNico’s Huitlacoche Sope
Ingredients
Yields 3 portions
Ingredients for Ricotta Epazote
2 cups of whipped ricotta
½ bunch of epazote leaves, thinly sliced
Kosher salt, to taste
Ingredients for Mint Salsa Verde
6 pieces of tomatillo, cut in half
½ white onion
1 garlic clove
1 bunch of mint leaves
Kosher salt, to taste
Ingredient for Huitlacoche
4 cups of huitlacoche
Ingredient for Sopes
120 grams (about 1 cup) of masa
Ingredients for Assembly and Garnish
1 cup of white onion, diced in small cubes
2 teaspoons of serrano chilli, chopped in small pieces
4 leaves of epazote, sliced
Serrano slices
Cilantro macho
Maldon salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Creme fraiche
Directions
- First, make the ricotta epazote. Mix ingredients together and season to taste. Set aside.
- Next, make the mint salsa verde. Mix ingredients together in a blender. Then, using a chinois, drain water until salsa is on a thick consistency. Set aside.
- Next, cook the huitlacoche. Preheat your oven on 360 F, then proceed to cook your huitlacoche until soft. This takes around 12-15 minutes. Set aside.
- Next, divide the masa by 3. Take 1/3 (40 grams) of the masa and press with a flat surface to form a disc with a thickness of half an inch. Sear the disc of masa on a hot pan until both sides are cooked. Once cooked, pinch the edges of the sope to create a ring around it (you can use your fingers). Set aside.
- Add 2 tablespoons of cooked huitlacoche to a bowl and mix it with 1 teaspoon of chopped white onion, ½ cup of chopped serrano and 1 tablespoon of mint salsa verde. Set aside.
- Fry one of the sopes until it is golden, then transfer it to a tray with a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.
- Plate one of the fried sopes and add a tablespoon of the ricotta epazote as a base, then add the huitlacoche mixture.
- Finish by drizzling creme fraiche on top of the epazote and adding 3 serrano slices and cilantro macho on top.
- Sprinkle with Maldon salt and olive oil.