We’ve been eating so much fancy food that Pedro and I felt like eating some flautas with salsa and guacamole. These simple rolled tacos were favorites at my restaurant Zarela and the parties we catered.
The trick to making greaseless flautas is having the right tortilla and method of filling and rolling it. You need a special, very thin, corn tortilla that is commercially produced and sold as tortillas for chips. When made from nixtamalized corn (dried corn treated with calcium hydroxide to remove the tough epidermis), the tortillas will have better elasticity and will be more pliable than those made from corn flour. They not only roll into a tight cigar shape and roll more easily, and, when put in a plastic baggie, they hold better until you are ready to fry just before serving.
Rolled Chicken Tacos (Flautas)
Ingredients
- 1 recipe
Poached and Sautéed Chicken (Pollo guisado) or 2 cups any shredded meat or seafood filling hash (well drained) - 16 commercially made thin corn tortillas
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Soften the tortillas, preferably by placing them, in batches of 4 at a time, in a small plastic bag and microwaving them on full power for 30-40 seconds (depending on the wattage of your model). A steamer basket or other improvised steaming arrangement also works fairly well; wrap all the tortillas in a tea towel and steam for2 minutes and keep warm wrapped in tea towels.
- Working quickly while they are still pliable, place about 2 tablespoons of the filling in the center of each tortilla, roll into a tight cylinder, and secure two tacos together with toothpicks. As you work, place the filled tortillas in a larger plastic bag before they can dry out, which makes them crack in frying.
- When they are all filled, pour oil into a deep medium-sized skillet or heavy saucepan to a depth of about 1 inch. Heat over medium-high heat to 375°F. Fry the filled tortillas, 4 at a time, until golden, about 5 minutes per batch. Lift out onto paper towels and let drain briefly. Arrange on a platter and serve with guacamole or Salsa verde de aguacate.
