Photo by Sonia Mendez Garcia Flautas ahogadas literally translates to "drowned flautas." I will confess, crispy flautas or taquitos are one of my all-time favorite Mexican meals. Flauta is the Spanish word for "flute." In certain parts of Mexico, a special,extra-long corn tortilla is made especially for flautas. Flautas are also referred to as taquitos and tacos dorados, depending on the region.
These flute-shaped tacos are fried until golden-brown and deliciously crispy. After that, they're "drowned" in a freshly prepared salsa verde and then garnished with Mexican crema and crumbled cotija cheese. What's not to love about that? So when my husband requests flautas for dinner, I am more than happy to grant his request!
Ingredients
- For the Salsa
- 2 pounds tomatillos peeled and washed
- 4-6 serrano peppers stems removed
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 large white onion
- 1/2 cup water from salsa ingredients
- salt to taste
- 1/3 cup cilantro chopped (optional)
- For the Flautas
- 1¾ cup grapeseed oil or canola oil
- 16 corn tortillas
- 3 full cups shredded chicken breast (previously cooked)
- 16 toothpicks
- You Will Also Need
- 2 cups Mexican crema or sour cream
- 1 cup cotija cheese crumbled
- A comal
Directions
- To a pot of simmering water, add the tomatillos, serranos, garlic and onion. Cook for 7-10 minutes or just until tomatillos turn from bright green to to olive green.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer salsa ingredients to the blender. Add ½ cup of cooking water and salt to taste. Blend on high until smooth. If adding cilantro, wait until the salsa cools a bit and then add it. Blend for a few seconds and set aside.
- Preheat a comal or griddle pan to medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Brush tortillas with oil on both sides and stack onto plate. Cook tortillas on hot comal for 5-7 seconds per side. Stack onto plate once again, keeping them covered with foil paper.
- Preheat 1½ cups of oil to medium heat in a large skillet for 5-6 minutes. Take two tortillas from stack and overlap them about 1½ inches. Fill with chicken (about 4 tablespoons' worth) down the center. Carefully roll as tight as you can to make a flute shape. Secure at the seam with toothpicks, one on each side.
- Fry in preheated oil, seam side down to start. Turn as needed. Once crispy and golden brown, remove from oil and stand up in a bowl lined with paper towels until you are done frying.
- While the flautas drain and cool slightly, warm the salsa verde in a saucepan for a few minutes. To plate, add two extra long flautas to a plate. Ladle on a generous amount of warm salsa. Garnish with crema and queso cotija.
Chef Notes
Brushing the tortillas with oil and cooking them on a hot comal for a few seconds helps to keep the tortillas from tearing when filling and rolling. To skip this method and simply steam the tortillas, wrap 6 tortillas in paper towels and cook on high for 1 minute in the microwave. If you have a good quality tortilla, there will be minimal tearing.
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