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| Instead of roasted pork or beef, finely chopped and spiced seitan is used as the filling for our mouthwatering flautas. |
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| Seasoned and sauteed seitan is cooked with onions and a dab of tomato paste before being encased in 6" whole wheat tortillas. Feel free substitute corn tortillas but just don't forget to call them taquitos instead! |
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| Flautas at Cafe Drake HRV are baked so we can avoid the hassle of deep-frying and also hereby declare these treats guilt-free. Don't laugh at the prickly little roll-ups seen above; multiple toothpicks ensure the tortillas stay closed while baking. |
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| Seitan asada flautas, for dinner, with black rice and a green salad. |
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| Leftovers for lunch the following afternoon, with Broccoli and Chickpea Soup, Jalapeno Salsa and a Salad of Chayote, Queso Fresco and Olives. |
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| The salad is in a cinch and will stay flavorful in the fridge, tightly covered, for a couple of days. Simply, wash well and cut into 1" chunks 2 chayote squash. Don't bother peeling them but we suggest you remove the pit inside. Place the chopped chayote in a saucepan and and cover with an inch or two of salted water. Boil just until the chayote is tender enough to pierce with a fork. Drain but add to a mixing bowl along with 1/4 cup diced red onion and a handful of small, pitted green olives. Drizzle with olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar. Toss well and top with some crumbled queso fresco. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. |
(NO) CARNE ASADA FLAUTAS
First we need to make the seitan asada filling. Begin by chopping very finely around 1 lb. (or a little less) seitan, either store-bought or homemade. Set aside while you heat in a non-stick skillet 2 T. olive oil. Start the heat medium-high and adjust lower as needed to avoid burning. When the oil is very hot add 1/2 cup minced onion and 3 cloves minced garlic. Cook just until the onion turns translucent before adding the chopped seitan along with 1 heaping t. ground cumin, 1/2 t. cayenne pepper, 1 t. ground chipotle powder, 2 T. apple cider vinegar and 3 T. tomato paste. Season with salt; the amount needed will depend upon how the saltiness of your seitan. Stir well and cook until the seitan seems moist and combined with the spices and onions, around 3 minutes. If the skillet becomes too dry, sprinkle in a little more vinegar.
Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to slightly cool while you preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place around 1/4 cup of the seitan asada along one edge of a whole wheat or corn tortilla. Roll the tortilla closed and secure with at least 3 toothpicks stuck through the middle. Repeat with additional tortillas until you've used up all the filling.
Now transfer the flautas to a large baking sheet and spray both sides of the rolled tortillas with cooking oil. Alternately, you could brush both sides with vegetable or olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes, flip the flautas, and bake for 10 more minutes or until the tortillas are golden and crisp.
Serve hot with your favorite salsa and whatever else you'd like.
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