Chicken Flautas

Flautas de Pollo

Tortillas rolled around a filing, flautas indeed resemble their namesake, flutes. Flautas take a variety of fillings including seafood, beef, spicy pork, cheese and like these, chicken - flautas de pollo. So, what is a flauta? I think of flauta being similar to taquitos. Take a taco, instead of folding it, wrap the corn tortilla around the meat filling but leave out the lettuce and tomatoes, deep fry until crispy, and you have a finger food, the taquito. Wrap a flour tortilla around the enchilada filling, omit the sauce, cheese and garnish, deep fry until crispy, and you have a flauta - an enchilada finger food. Many use corn tortillas for their flautas with good results but it makes them indistinguishable from taqitos. Flautas do well as an ala carte selection when served with a choice of dipping sauces such as salsa, guacamole or sour cream. They also do well when served with the traditional Southwestern accompaniments, rice and beans

Preparation Time : 1 hour

Makes about 1 dozen flautas

Life Experience Recipe

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 4-ounce can diced green chiles
• 2 medium ripe tomato, seeded and diced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Prepared guacamole

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chicken base
• 1 dozen small flour tortillas
• Grated cheese, for garnish
• Sliced scallions for accent

1. Place chicken breasts, diced onion, minced garlic and diced green chiles in a small saucepan with lid. Add just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn chicken every 5 minutes. Remove from heat, remove chicken to a saucer to cool until it can be handled without burning the fingers. Continue cooking the vegetables and reduce the cooking liquid to half. Remove from heat. Stir in diced tomatoes.
2. Use two forks in a “pulling against one-another” motion to shred the chicken. Recombine the chicken and the reduced cooking liquid and vegetables. Stir to mix well. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Stir to mix.
3. Warm tortillas on a griddle or cast iron frying pan. The tortillas will crack if rolled cold. Divide the chicken mixture into 12 portions, about 2 tablespoons, and place 1 portion on the bottom third of a heated tortilla. Roll snugly, just enough to squeeze the filling to ends of the rolled tortilla. Secure with 1 or 2 toothpicks and set aside. Repeat for remaining filling and tortillas.

   

4. Heat 1-inch of oil in a frying pan, about 350F. Fry a few flautas at a time. Cook until golden brown and crispy, about 1 minute on a side. Drain on paper towels.
5. Serve ala carte, a couple of flautas a serving, with a dollop of guacamole and a garnish of sliced scallions or as as an entree with rice and beans.