Flautas

This is another one of those "more of a tip or technique than recipe". I'd made that pork roast and wanted to figure out a way to use leftovers up. The pork roast (Pernil Asada) is very flavorful so transforming those flavors by adding more spices might not work. I essentially wanted to add something to the meat without having to add too many more seasonings to try to make the dish work. I'd recalled seeing a recipe that made taquitos baked instead of fried which I liked for two reasons: healthier and EASIER. Guess which of those reasons is the biggest plus to me. :)

I wanted to use what I had in the house and I recalled this recipe and confirmed I had a can of pinto beans. I also had flour tortillas on hand and in doing some research I learned something new. Flautas are essentially taquitos that are made with flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas! So I preheated the oven to 425 and grabbed the leftover pork roast, some cumin, the can of pinto beans and the flour tortillas.  

I rinsed the can of pinto beans and added them to the pork roast I'd already added to the pot to heat up. I also added 1/2 tsp of cumin to the mix.

I knew the pork would be easier to shred once it was heated through so I left it as is and heated on medium, covered for about 5 minutes.

Once the juices from the roast were liquid again and the meat seemed heated through, I grabbed two forks and shredded the meat up.

Once the juices from the roast were liquid again and the meat seemed heated through, I grabbed two forks and shredded the meat up.

One "ingredient" I left out of the picture! Cooking spray... I have a couple different version but I went with the Canola Oil cooking spray. For the flautas, I used maybe 1/4 of a cup of the meat and bean mixture in each one? Just eyeball it. I was going for about the size of a fat cigar but this recipe is flexible. After you've rolled the meat and bean mixture in a flour tortilla and placed them seam side down, spray each rolled tortilla with cooking spray. Since I was only making a couple for Skywalker and I, I also sprayed the open space then slide one roll over, sprayed, slide, spray slide. Basically I wanted to get some cooking spray on the bottom of each roll. Why yes, I did forget to spray the bottom of the pan before putting the rolls in! Good guess.

Once they're all ready to go, bake them for 5 to 6 minutes, flip and bake for another 5 to 6 minutes and they're DONE!

Skywalker really enjoyed these and so did I. I'm making them again this weekend (except with homemade tortillas) along with another version with shredded chicken, black bean and cheese. To accompany this weekend's flautas, I'm making salsa and white cheese dip to dip them in. You know that white cheese dip you can order at Mexican restaurants?? I *hopefully* found a recipe to recreate it at home. *fingers crossed*

This technique is so versatile and easy enough to execute that experimentation is encouraged. Make them bigger, make them smaller, use whatever leftover meat, beans, cheese, veggies or anything you think will taste good for the filling. This is a super simple meal that can be fitted to any one's tastes. Give it a try! (I admit, I totally started chowing down on one before I realized I hadn't taken a final picture)

Ingredients:

Leftover pork roast (Pernil Asada) (3 cups worth?)

1 can of Pinto Beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 tsp cumin

flour tortillas

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Add pork roast, cumin and beans to a pot.
3. Cook over medium heat until the pork is heated through.
4. Shred meat, reduce temperature to medium low and let simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Add about 1/4 of a cup of meat and bean mixture just off center of a flour tortilla and roll up.
6. Place seam side down on a baking pan that's already been sprayed with cooking spray.
7. Continue until desired number of flautas are created.
8. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes, then flip tortilla rolls over and bake for another 5 to 6 minutes.
9. Serve immediately and enjoy!