Funky Flautas

Ever wondered what the love child of a nacho and a burrito would be? Fear not, for I have the answer: The Flauta.

Crunchy and filled this is the ideal midweek dinner as it's super easy to prepare and incredibly satisfying!

Recently I treated myself to a brand new recipe book, Thug Kitchen, which is chock full of amazing vegan recipes. If you're easily offended by swearing or tasty food then this book is not for you, but it has kick started my love affair with vegan food.

The Flauta, literally meaning 'The Flute' in Spanish, is made of ingredients that you probably already have in your cupboard

That's cumin in the plastic bag and ground flaxseed in the pot (ok so you probably don't have flaxseed in your cupboard, but it's optional so hear me out).

As a student one of my main factors in planning a meal is cost, and as everything used here is pretty that box gets a solid tick.

I needed to mash the beans up but with my student limited kitchen the best I could do was give it a liberal forking. You'd ideally get this mixture a little smoother but don't beat yourself up over it.

At my university there is the co-operative that allow you to buy ingredients in smaller quantities but for bulk buy prices. Because of this I was able to get 100g of flaxseed for only 90p, which makes it about a fifth of the price than at holland and barret. Flaxseed is also called Linseed so look out for it!

Flaxseed is essential to vegan diets as it's packed full of omega 3 and all kinds of vitamins. It also absorbs liquid so can be used as a thickener, or even an egg substitute in baking.

Back to the flauntas. To roll them up it's super easy, just put a large serving spoonful in a line near the bottom and roll away. Place the flanta so its seam is on the bottom so all the goodness doesn't come spilling out.

When they're in the oven you have to turn them once the bottom is crispy. This took about 20 minutes in my oven but check on yours as it could take less time.

Once out they'll be hard to the touch and very hot, so be careful! I served two per person with a small salad, but salsa and guacamole would also be tasty.

RECIPE:

Makes 8 flautas 

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 a chopped onion (chop up the full onion and just keep half of it chopped and ready to go for your next recipe)

2 teaspoons chili flakes

1 large tablespoon ground flaxseed (optional)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Pinch of salt

4 or 5 chopped garlic cloves

2 tins of beans (I used kidney and a three bean mix, but you can really just use whatever here)

1 red pepper

Juice of a lime

1 tin of sweetcorn (fresh or frozen sweetcorn would also work well).

Handful of chopped coriander

8 flour tortillas

Method:

Preheat your oven to 250C and prep a baking sheet with baking paper or foil. Lightly cover with cooking spray.

In a large pan saute the onions and peppers in your olive oil for around 5 minutes, or until soft.

Meanwhile get the beans in a large bowl and mash up until most of the beans are broken up. Squeeze the lime in and set aside.

Add in chili, cumin, salt and garlic to your onion mixture and turn the heat up for a minute or so. 

I added in the ground flaxseed as it acts as an absorbent to make the mixture a little less liquid. You don't have to do this as flaxseed is a bit of a faff to find in the supermarket!

Combine the beans, onion mix and sweetcorn in one of the bowls and mix until well combined.

At this point if you were making ahead you could stop and assemble the flautas closer to the serving time.

Lay your tortilla out flat and put a large serving spoons worth of the filling in a straight line before rolling your flauta up.
Bake your tray of flautas for around 15-20 minutes before flipping them over and baking for a further 10 minutes.

Serve quickly because they're too damn good to wait

Are you intrigued and want to create your own flautas? Let me know!