Meatless Monday: Oven-Crisp Black Bean and Corn Flautas

Thursday, January 7, 2010

This is one of my favorite meals so far. It is super easy and one that can be done with mostly pantry items. If you keep a reasonably stocked kitchen, the only things you should need to pick up are corn tortillas and cilantro, and probably some salsa because this recipe calls for quite a bit of it. If you wanted to make it super easy, keep some corn tortillas in the freezer to have on hand any time.

Oven-Crisp Black Bean and Corn Flautas
From Vegetarian Times

Serves 6

* 2 tsp. olive oil
* 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
* 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tsp.)
* 2 15-oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained
* 2 tsp. chili powder
* 1 16-oz. tub prepared salsa, divided*
* 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
* 12 6-inch corn tortillas
* 1/4 cup chopped cilantro



Directions

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook onion 3 to 5 minutes, or until soft. Add garlic, and cook 1 minute, or until translucent and fragrant.


2. Stir in beans, chili powder and 1 cup water. Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer 10 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat. Mash beans until mixture is thickened but still chunky, and some beans remain whole. Stir in 1 cup salsa and corn, and season with salt and pepper. Cool.



NOTE:
Lesson learned that I need to share before you do the next step... Every time I've ever worked with corn tortillas, they just break whenever you try to bend them. This time was no exception, so you'll notice that I came out with something more like a tostada than a flauta. After I was done, I was so frustrated that I searched for how to keep the tortillas from breaking every time, and here's a tip I found. If the tortillas are not quite fresh enough to roll easily without breaking, spritz the tortillas with a small amount of water and place in a towel inside your microwave. Microwave on high for about 15 seconds, and this will restore the freshness to them. I haven't tried this to see if it works or not, so if you try it let me know!!

Ah! And, I just noticed that at the very top of my printout of this recipe, above the picture, ingredients and instructions (where I was sure not to notice it), it says to be sure to let the filling cool or the tortillas would split. Of course, I didnt' do this! So that might be a fix as well.

3. Preheat oven to 425F. Coat 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray. Spoon 1/3 cup black bean mixture down center of tortilla. Roll tortilla around filling, and secure closed with toothpick. Set on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas and black bean mixture. Bake 6 to 10 minutes, or until tortillas are browned and crisp.

4. Meanwhile, combine cilantro and remaining salsa in small bowl. Place 2 flautas on each plate, and top with remaining salsa.

* "divided" doesn't make much sense to me here, because it doesn't say how much to divide out! And when it references it later in the recipe, it's also less than entirely clear. What they mean is, you need 1 cup worth (half the container) to mix in with the beans, and then you use the rest in the last step, to combine with the cilantro and top the flautas.

Nutritional Information

Per SERVING: Calories: 286, Protein: 11g, Total fat: 3g, Saturated fat: g, Carbs: 56g, Cholesterol: mg, Sodium: 435mg, Fiber: 11g, Sugars: 9g