Refried Sweet Potato Flautas with Toasted Pasilla Crema
In Mexico homes are mainly run by our mums and grandmas I feel that they are the pillar of every family and that the heart and soul of our cuisine resides in their kitchens , recipes are passed from generation to generation from mothers to daughters, and I’m sure that in new generations to come sons will be involved in learning and preserving those recipes too.
I want to dedicate this recipe to both of my grandmothers, Marina and Tita, two very strong ladies that kept their families going through hard times, without husbands to rely on they both raised large families and whom we owe all .
Is funny to think that I went to culinary school, had different experiences working in professional kitchens and lived in cosmopolitan cities but I still very much feel that the main influence of what I cook comes from my mum, grandmas and all the amazing cooks in my family.
These days I’m more interested into the everyday meals that are prepared in the hearts of Mexican homes, I remember every special dish from the women in my family and their taste and all I want is to do is to first of all eat their food :) and then to learn everything I can from them.
I grew up watching what Mum would prepare for the day, I just loved watching her and seeing how confident she was going from one thing to the other, multitasking and serving delicious homemade meals for us every day , I feel very grateful for this and all the effort and energy that Mum put into feeding her family.
The time that I would go and spend with my grandmas I would notice similar attitudes while they were cooking away, and only now I fully understand that this was the main source of my mums and my aunties knowledge in the kitchen, I’m sure this is very similar in other parts of the world and I don’t know about you but it makes me appreciate so much more the presence and value that grandmothers have not only in our family but in our society as well.
*Flautas often made an appearance as one of my mum’s go to meals to feed me and my siblings, we all loved her delicious flautas sometimes simply filled with boiled mashed potatoes seasoned with a bit of butter, pepper and salt, but it didn’t really matter which filling it was, I remember being thrilled at the sight of these being lightly fried in the kitchen when I was back from school.
For my recipe I used sweet potato cooked in a similar way as refried beans in order to add more flavour in the the already delicious mash. The tortillas have a nice hint of blue corn flowers that give a unique touch to this dish served with my favourite crema made with lightly fried pasilla chilli to release all the amazing flavours and aromas that these chillies have.
*Flautas are crispy taquitos rolled into “flute” like shape hence the name, there is a variety of fillings that you can stuff them with, and traditionally served with shredded iceberg lettuce scattered on top, crema and homemade salsa.
Note: I wanted to make this recipe from scratch including your own homemade tortillas as I feel that makes it more special, but if your are tight with time you may use shop bought corn tortillas, simply warm them up so they become soft and are easier to roll once you add your filing.
Makes 18-20 small flautas.
Ingredients.
Refried Sweet Potato.
2 baked sweet potatoes (baked at 200 C until they are cooked and soft in the middle, remove the skin).
1 fennel bulb or white onion, (finely chopped).
1 fat garlic clove (minced).
1 red chilli or 1 Serrano chilli (finely chopped), avoid the chilli if you are making them for kids.
1 tbsp rapeseed oil or olive oil for cooking.
2 tsp of ground pasilla.
1 tsp tamari sauce or worcestershire sauce.
1 cup of vegetable stock.
1 tbsp of creme fraiche or greek yoghurt.
Handful coriander with stems (finely chopped).
Maldon salt and pepper for seasoning.
Blue Corn Flower Tortillas for the flautas.
2 cups of corn flour.
2 tbsp blue corn flowers (optional).
1 tsp sea salt.
1 1/2 cup approx, of hot boiling water .
For the toasted pasilla crema.
1-2 whole pasilla chillies, (cleaned and with no stems).
1 tsp of olive oil for cooking.
1 cup of greek yoghurt.
1/3 cup of water.
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
Season with maldon salt and black pepper to taste.
Method.
Begin by making your refried sweet potatoes, add the rapeseed oil into a pan and heat up then slowly fry your fennel, garlic and chilli. Add the baked sweet potato flesh, mash roughly into the pan, and season with the ground pasilla, tamari sauce, salt and black pepper to taste, stir and add the vegetable stock at the end, stir again and cook on a low flame until most of the liquid is absorbed, you want a refried bean like consistency.
Once ready remove from the heat and add the greek yoghurt and fresh coriander, mix with a wooden spoon, let it cool down and set aside.
For the flautas you start by making the masa to make the blue corn flower tortillas, simply mix all the ingredients into a bowl with a wooden spoon, and once they are al integrated and cool enough you may manage the masa with your hands. transfer your masa over the kitchen counter and kneed briefly , then follow these steps to make your tortillas:
Form masa balls with the palms of your hands
Place masa into the tortilla press in-between two pieces of plastic film.
Press your masa down forming the tortilla.
Place over a really hot non stick pan and flip over after a minute or less until both sides are cooked.
Repeat the same procedure with the rest of your masa.
To make your flautas simply spread a spoonful of cooled down refried sweet potatoes into your tortillas (as seen in the picture below), then rolll your tortilla forming your “flautas” flute like shaped taco, make sure is rolled tight in order to avoid it from open up when you cook them, repeat the procedure with the rest of your tortillas.
Once they are all rolled up you may insert a toothpick in the middle of the flautas to prevent it from loosing it’s shape when fried, make packs of three flautas sticked together, and make sure to hold the tortilla edge.
Prepare your oil and shallow fry your taquitos until crispy and golden colour, remove from the oil carefully with a slotted spoon and place them over kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil, fry the rest of your flautas.
For your crema quickly fry your pasilla chillies until they get a bit of colour and release their aroma, let them cool down over kitchen paper; In a bowl add the greek yoghurt, water and olive oil whisk and integrate all the ingredients, then crumble your toasted pasilla chillies on top, season with maldon salt and pepper to taste, mix with a spoon and serve drizzled over your warm flautas or on the side, enjoy!
