Flautas with Tomatillo Salsa and Pine Nut Crema

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

The Lord has been wonderful these past 2 days y'all! I mean He is great all the time, but as far as the heat goes, it has been significantly cooler here in New Mexico. I was able to take a nike ride this morning before the peak of the heat could hit this morning. Sometimes it takes me a little longer to get warmed up to a smaller town because it tends to intimidate me just a bit, but since I knew I needed outdoor air I was glad when I could borrow our friend's bike.

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

On my ride out this morning I decided to drive around the cemetery. I have always thought that cemeteries were beautiful even though death is somewhat of a sad situation. I like reading the epitaphs and there certainly were touching ones on my ride through. I just wondered if these young folks got a chance to hear about Jesus' love for them. It was touching to me today.

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

My eats these past two days have been great despite not being in my own kitchen, but it has also been great to know I can keep up my exercise routine as well. A sign of discipline! Yay, thanks God!


For breakfast I had oatmeal with half a banana and some coffee with almond milk.

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

For lunch I had a hummus and crispy kale sandwich on a whole wheat bun that was super delicious! I finally toasted my own kale in the oven with some olive oil and nutritional yeast and I have to say it is my new favorite thing!

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

Last night I was excited to make a meal I had not cooked in over a year! This was one of my husband's requests so since I was in the perfect area to acquire the ingredients for flautas, I got down to business.


I made out friends flautas with shredded chicken with tomatillo sauce and a regular sour cream to drizzle with some queso fresco. On the other hand I decided to veganize this dish. It was not quite to difficut to work on 2 dishes since I prepared the chicken the night before as well as the tomatillo salsa. It was all about the assembly process.


Since I was a bit pressed for time, I decided to use a can of vegetarian refried beans that were already seasoned and I proceeded to make a cream out of pine nuts. Even though I served the sour cream on the table along with the pine but crema, our friends decided to try out the pine nut crema over the sour cream. Hey who knew? I was glad they tried my substitute. All in all I was happy with the results y'all! I hope you enjoy this vegan version for flautas.

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

Flautas with Tomatillo Salsa and Pine Nut Crema


serves 2 to 4


Flautas
20 corn tortillas
1 can vegetarian refried pinto beans
toothpicks


Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.


Warm 5 tortillas at a time in microwave for 45 seconds. Once removed, add 3 tsp of refried beans in the center of tortilla and roll in an almost tight manner. Secure with a toothpick. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas. (The tortillas must be warmed and softened for this step to work)


Place prepared flautas on a baking pan and bake for 20 minutes or until slightly golden brown. (Traditionally these can be fried but these are healthier)


Serve 4 to 5 flautas per person.


Tomatillo Salsa
1 1/2 lb. fresh tomatillos (green tomatoes with husks)
1 large jalapeno, seeded
1 can diced green chiles
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
Salt to taste (1 tsp)
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp sugar


Rinse tomatillos under warm water and cut in quarters. Slice and partially seed jalapeno. In a food processor, liquefy tomatillos, garlic, jalapeno, and green chiles.


Heat olive oil on medium skillet. Add sauce to hot oil and add lime juice, water, salt, sugar, vinegar and cumin. Boil the sauce for 10 to 15 minutes minutes. Add cilantro at the end and set aside.


Pine Nut Crema
1 cup pine nuts
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice


Pine nuts can be soaked the night before preparation or simmer pine nuts in water for 10-15 minutes to soften the nut.


In a food processor, blend nuts on high and then add the olive oil, lemon juice, and olive oil. Refrigerate until ready to use.

ASSEMBLY


Place 4 to 5 flautas on plate and pour 1/2 to 3/4 cup of tomatillo salsa over flautas. Then add 2 Tbsp pine crema on each. Another traditional option is to add thinkly sliced white onions on top of crema. ENJOY!

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen