Potato Flautas

Thanks to the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) for making this post possible. All comments, opinions and my love for exploring the dairy aisle are my own!

June marks the beginning of summertime events. Picnics, play dates, Father's Day, all sorts of occasions make for plenty of fun in the sun.

June also happens to be National Dairy Month, which is exactly as it should be as far as I'm concerned, because it's the perfect time to whip up favorite dishes with ingredients from the dairy aisle like cakes, yogurt parfaits, and strawberry licuados.

But Simply Potatoes® Diced Potatoes are also found in the dairy aisle and they're perfect for these picnic potato flautas my kids love.

The word “flautas” means flutes in English. These are long and round like flutes, but they're crunchy like tacos. They're popular with both kids and adults alike, because they're easy to eat and they're delicious. You can serve them as appetizers at a party, or take them to the beach or the park for a picnic.

You can eat them warm or cold, and, in the part of Mexico I come from, they are usually served with lettuce and salsa. Eat them with a side of guacamole or with different kinds of salsa like this green salsa or this red salsa, or, our favorite way to eat them, dipped in this avocado salsa.

In this recipe, the potatoes are the stars because they make such great flauta filling. They are very satisfying and their mild flavor goes well with many flavor combinations. I combine them here with garlic, onion, tomato, and a little bit of cheese. Here is a detailed recipe.

Makes 25 flautas

Ingredients:

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons olive, canola or grapeseed oil
1/2 cup white onion, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 (20 oz.) Simply Potatoes® Diced Potatoes (They're already washed, peeled and cut, yeah!)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded cheese
25 corn tortillas, king size
1 romaine or iceberg lettuce, sliced
Salsa of your choice
Avocado or guacamole (optional)

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a deep pot over high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 30 seconds stirring constantly. Then add tomatoes and cook for another minute.

Add potatoes and salt to tomato-onion mixture, mix until potatoes are coated with the sauce. Pour in two tablespoons of water, lower the temperature to medium, cover, and cook for 12 minutes, stirring now and then. Check potatoes and if they are soft, remove from heat and keep them covered for 5 minutes.

While you wait, set up your working station. You will need a plate covered with paper towels, another clean plate, and the cheese.

Now heat oil in a shallow pan. Separately, heat up a comal to warm up the tortillas. You can also use a microwave to heat the tortillas. Start warming up your tortillas in batches of 5-8 at a time. This is done to soften them so they will roll easily.

Now, take one tortilla, put it in on a plate, and spoon out 1-2 teaspoons of potato mixture and place it a little off the center of the tortilla, leaving 1/4 inch space at both ends (don't overfill the tortillas otherwise the filling will fall into the oil), cover with cheese. Then roll tortilla as tightly as you can. Repeat until you finish with the first 5-8 flauta batch.

By now the oil should be very hot, carefully submerge the filled tortillas and fry until golden. Use a pair of tongs to turn them over and fry again until the other side is done. Remove and put on top of the plate covered with the paper towel. Repeat.

While the first batch is frying you can keep warming up and filling up tortillas so you have the next batch ready to add to the oil. Repeat until you finish with all the flautas.

You can serve them in different ways. If you are home, put a base of lettuce, add 3-4 flautas on top, cover with your favorite salsa, avocado, more cheese and even sour cream if you like. You can also serve them the other way, flautas in the bottom, then lettuce and salsa, it's like having a salad on top.

If you are on the go, or having a picnic at the beach or park, put 2-3 on a plate with guacamole or salsa at the side to dip them in.

Enjoy!

For more meal inspiration from surprising finds in the dairy aisle, check out the NFRA at www.EasyHomeMeals.com, and our “Cool Food Panel” board on Pinterest.

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Silvia Martinez

Silvia started bilingual website Mama Latina Tips in 2009 to connect and share her stories, recipes and culture with readers. Silvia loves dancing, cooking, watching movies, reading, throwing Mexican parties and spending time with family and friends. Silvia is the winner of The Great American Recipe.

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