Poblano and Corn Soup with Huitlacoche, Roasted Corn, and Applewood Smoked Bacon

This one was a rustic interpretation of a refined version I had at Tamayo (considered a Modern Mexican Restaurant), post on that great meal to follow. To me poblano / pasilla chiles are kind of a Mexican equivalent to one of the components of mirepoix, like celery, as in it's sort of just a foundational flavor - hard on it's own to be interesting but integral in providing nuance. A good chicken stock needs some celery, so it follows I thought a good Latin American corn soup needed some poblano.

The distinguished flavor pair, the inspiration to which I attribute to Tamayo, was corn and huitlacoche. I'm only guessing, but I think the corn + huitlacoche flavor pair is sort of as predictable as when you grow tomato and basil together in your garden, they both seem to thrive. Huitlacoche is a fungus, considered by some to be the Mexican equivalent of a black truffle, which in the U.S. is largely considered a pest since it infects corn. The color, in canned form, is black as night during a new moon, inky, turbid. The flavor is sweet, earthy with mineral notes, and in this application a little smoky.

On my annual culinary adventure (G3), I sought to find huitlacoche and was not easily dissuaded by its scarcity. After visiting or calling about a dozen Latin American and Mexican Grocers (from chains to mom and pop shops), I discovered it surprisingly next to the Chinese Food section at Avanza on South Federal Blvd. in Denver. Similar to Italian cuisine, I suspect that the ingredient is only traditionally prominent in a few regions of Mexico.

From gastronomic guesswork

So the soup used a base of 2 quarts of chicken broth and about 6 stalks celery, which simmered for about 20 minutes. Six poblanos were broiled for ~15 minutes, rotating twice. After destemming and deseeding, these were blitzed with the broth and a pound of frozen organic corn. After warming through and adjusting salt to taste, this was infused with a half cup of heavy cream and some hungarian wax chile flake for a small touch of heat. Separately, the huitlacoche (one 5 oz can) was spread half an inch thick onto a sheet pan and roasted for 15 minutes at 350F. This was then pureed with a 1/4 cup of cream and seasoned with black pepper and kosher salt. The soup was then plated with the huitlacoche, some fresh open-fire roasted corn, and diced crispy applewood smoked bacon.

I've become an instant fan of this blight on the corn farmer, if you find it at a farmers market or if you're a grower and have / know where to get fresh huitlacoche, please drop me a line.