Black Bean Flautas with Avocado Dipping Sauce

Ooh yum, another recipe Jessica gets to eat salsa with! :)

I could eat Mexican food everyday. I could probably live in Mexico. Heck, I was probably Latina in another life. I've never gone on a Mexican vacation, but I think that'd be a good trip for me. One where I can lay on the beach all day with a margarita in my hand, and eat fresh seafood and tacos everyday. Sounds like heaven...

What was I supposed to be talking about? Oh yeah, not a beach vacation, but food. I've been meaning to try a flauta recipe for some time now, I just hadn't quite gotten around to it. Until now. I took a chicken recipe and turned it vegetarian. Mainly because I had black beans on hand, but no chicken. No matter, they still turned out delicious and waaay filling. All you'd have to do is serve this alongside some Spanish rice, and you'd have a feast. 

I loved the avocado dipping sauce that went with the flautas. Mine turned out very thick, but you could definitely thin your sauce out by adding water to taste. The sauce has a lovely thick and creamy texture thanks to all that yummy avocado. The recipe calls for you to fry the flautas in oil, but I was not in the mood to deep fry. I popped these in the oven instead, and didn't lose any crispy goodness by changing the method. Healthier, and still browned and crispy? Plus, no cleaning up of oil that inevitably splatters everywhere? Yes, and yes!

I paired down the spiciness of this dish to make it hubby-friendly. I used refried black beans with jalapeños which I thought gave the dish enough spice. The recipe for the avocado dipping sauce called for jalapeños and cayenne, both of which I omitted. I found we didn't miss the spice, but by all means, make it spicy if you want. I probably would have made the sauce spicy if it were just for me!

Really, you must try making flautas. It's super easy. Roll up whatever filling you want in a little tortilla. Wrap the tortilla tight and secure it with a toothpick. Place wrapped tortillas in oven, bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove and top with preferred toppings. They make wonderful leftovers. I had a couple leftover the next day that I popped in the microwave. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they held up, even in the dreaded microwave. Plus, think of what you could use as a filling. Any kind of meat- chicken, beef, pork, turkey, bacon, hamburger, etc. Not to mention you could use any kind of bean mixture, or even grains like lentils or rice. Crispy diced potatoes maybe? The possibilities are as endless as the possibilities for tacos. 

Finally, I'll add that I had some leftover black bean mixture from making the flautas. My advice? Store it in the fridge and make one of the following with the leftovers:

1. Quesadillas

2. Tostadas

3. Bean Burritos

4. Taco Salad

5. More Flautas!

I just happened to use the remainder of the black beans for a lunchtime burrito. Mmmmmmm. Light years ahead of Taco Bell :)

Happy Thursday friends!

Ingredients (serves 4):

Flautas:

1/2 cup red onion, diced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 lime, juiced

1 (15 oz) can of refried black beans with jalapeño (I used Trader Joe's)

16 corn tortillas, warmed

toppings- chopped lettuce and tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, cheese, chopped cilantro

Avocado Dipping Sauce:

1 avocado

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1 lime, juiced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 clove garlic

2 tbsp- 1/4 cup water

Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Coat a cookie sheet with cookie spray.

2. In a small bowl, combine red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and black beans. Spread a heaping tablespoon of black bean mixture onto a corn tortilla. Wrap the tortilla up tight, like a cigar, and secure with a toothpick. Put prepared tortilla on cookie sheet. Repeat with the remainder of tortillas.

3. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes, or until flautas are browned and crispy. Remove from oven, set aside.

4. To prepare avocado sauce, combine all ingredients (avocado through 2 tbsp water) in a food processor. Pulse until mixture is smooth. Add more water if you want to thin the sauce out. Add salt to taste.

5. Top flautas with desired toppings and serve alongside avocado dipping sauce. Serve immediately. 

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Oh My Veggies.

Linked to: Treasure Box Tuesdays, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday