Beef Flautas Supreme

Tacos are a nice go-to for simple dinners. But tacos get boring. I often will switch it up and make
tortillas if I'm feeling whimsical. But even then, those get boring. So when I saw this recipe for flautas I figured they'd be a nice change up. 

Flautas are basically rolled tacos. They differ from enchiladas because there isn't any sauce over them. Baking them keeps the calories down from frying them, which is traditionally how they're done. 

I had to keep mine in the oven longer than 12 minutes to get that crispy outside. I started with 8 minutes and added 5 more at a time. I ended up around 17 minutes.

I have no idea what Tex-Mex sauce is in this recipe. It was good, smoky, reminded me a little of chipotle but not completely. Frankly, it wouldn't be needed if you were making these. 

I didn't use the red pepper crema that came with it. Red peppers... blech. I substituted with sour cream.

Beef Flautas Supreme

Recipe from Hello Fresh

Serves 2

1small onion, sliced

1 T Southwest Spice blend [JW Note: This seemed very much like taco seasoning]

1 Tex-Mex Paste

1/2 c Mexican blend cheese, shredded

1 tomato, diced

4 T Smoky Red Pepper Crema

6 Flour tortillas

10 oz ground beef

Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and brush with oil (or coat with nonstick spray). Wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and thinly slice onion; mince a few slices until you have 1 TBSP (2 TBSP for 4 servings).

 Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add sliced onion; cook for 3 minutes. • Add beef and Southwest Spice Blend; cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until beef is browned and onion is softened, 4-6 minutes. • Stir in Tex-Mex paste and 1/3 cup water (1⁄2 cup for 4 servings). Simmer until mixture has thickened and beef is cooked through, 2-4 minutes more. Turn off heat.

 Meanwhile, drizzle tortillas with 1 TBSP olive oil (2 TBSP for 4 servings); brush or rub to completely coat. • Place tortillas on a clean work surface. Once beef filling is done, add a heaping 1⁄4 cup filling to one side of each tortilla, then sprinkle each with 1 TBSP Mexican cheese blend. Roll up tortillas, starting with filled sides, to create flautas. Place, seam sides down, on prepared sheet. TIP: Make sure the flautas are snug on the sheet—this will prevent them from unrolling. • Bake on middle rack until golden brown and crispy, 8-12 minutes.

While flautas bake, finely dice tomato. In a small bowl, combine tomato and minced onion. Season with salt. • Divide flautas between plates. Top with pico de gallo and red pepper crema. Serve.