Today is Flautas day!
My friend Dacia is here for a visit to the island, and she works at a place called The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas. Since the restaurant she works for offers a gluten-free menu and teachers their employees about cross-contamination she is no stranger to the ways of my world, or your world.
Dacia also loves to cook. She even assists in the kitchen at her work from time to time.
So, today she showed me how to make her flautas.
The flautas she makes consists of boiled chicken breasts (boiled with water, salsa verde, cayenne pepper, and serrano peppers) that are finely chopped and grated cheese (we used Tillamook Vintage Extra Sharp White Cheddar) all wrapped in a corn tortilla and fried.
Flautas
by AmandaonMaui and Dacia C.
12 Corn Tortillas
1lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into 1/2″ wide strips
1/4 cup Salsa Verde
1 Serrano Chile, brunoised
1/4tsp Cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups grated Tillamook Extra Sharp Vintage White Cheddar (or more)
Vegetable Oil
In a medium sauce pan add enough water to cover the chicken breast strips.
Also, add in the salsa verde and cayenne pepper.
Cook, covered, until the chicken is done through. Strain, reserving pulp, and allow the chicken to cool.
Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, finely mince the meat and reserved pulp. Stir together.
In a shallow frying pan add in enough vegetable oil to allow a tortilla to float without touching the bottom.
Heat the oil until a drop of water makes it sizzle.
Float a tortilla in the oil for 15 seconds and flip. After another 15 seconds remove the tortilla to a plate covered with a paper towel.
Repeat the above with the rest of your tortillas.
Once the tortillas are done and are cool enough to handle, but still warm, add a small amount of the chicken mixture and a small amount of cheese into the center of a tortilla. Roll up tightly.
Finish the above procedure with the rest of the tortillas and hold in a baking pan.
Bring the oil back up to temperature, and carefully lower a rolled flauta into the oil (bottom side down) using tongs (or as Dacia does it, a knife to hold the bottom shut, and a fork to stabilize the procedure).
When the bottom is cooked and does not open flip the flauta over. Cook until golden brown and remove the flauta to a plate with a paper towel.
Repeat the above procedure with the remaining flautas.
Serve with sour cream (or low-fat/non-fat plain yogurt) and salsa verde or tomato salsa.
