PPK's Vegan Chopped: Baked Black-Eyed Flautas with Choca-Guaca-Mole and Limeberry Salsa

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Well, I figure that since I’ve been blogging all of three days now, it’s about time that I stepped things up and started inventing my own recipes.  And what better way to start than with an original recipe submission for the Post Punk Kitchen’s inaugural Vegan Chopped competition?  I’ve long been a fan of The Food Network’s “Chopped,” so I figured that taking part in a vegan Chopped-style competition would be pretty cool.  Oh, and did I mention the part where it’s hosted by the Post Punk Kitchen? For those of you who aren’t familiar with PPK, it is pretty much the definition of awesome vegan cooking/blogging/awesomeness (yes, I just said awesome vegan awesomeness..because it’s just that awesome).  PPK’s Isa Chandra Moskowitz is responsible for some of the most rockin’ vegan cookbooks out there, and just knowing that she’ll be judging my submission is pretty freaking cool (Hi, Isa!).  But enough pandering…let’s talk about the recipe!

The Challenge: Create and photograph a vegan entrée. The total prep and cooking time for the entrée should be no more than 40 minutes.  The entrée must include four secret ingredients – canned black-eyed peas, bittersweet chocolate, blackberries, and mint. (No sweat….right…?)

The Answer: Baked Black-Eyed Flautas with Choca-guaca-mole and Limeberry Salsa

**Before jumping into the recipe, I feel like I should throw in a disclaimer or two. First of all, I’m calling these things ‘flautas,’ but I have no Mexican cooking experience whatsoever, so if you’re reading this recipe and you feel as though I’ve seriously offended your culinary heritage, I sincerely apologize.  Secondly, this is the first recipe I’ve ever written on my own, so the wording is just a wee bit awkward in a few places.  I took pictures throughout the process, so hopefully they will help you decipher my inane ramblings.**

And now, without further ado, I present to you: Baked Black-Eyed Flautas with Choca-guaca-mole and Limeberry Salsa.

Prep/Cooking Time:  approx. 40 min

Makes: 6 huge flautas

For the Flautas:

2 cups Maseca Corn Masa

1 ¼ cups water

¼ teaspoon salt

1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

Additional salt (for sprinkling)

1.       Preheat the oven to 400^o and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.       In a medium-sized bowl, combine the Maseca, water, and salt. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together until a soft dough is formed. Roll the dough into little balls about the size of golf balls and place them on the parchment paper.  Squish each ball flat to create tiny little tortillas.

3.       Spoon about ½ to ¾ of a table spoon of black-eyed peas, and ½ to ¾ of a table spoon of black beans onto each little tortilla.

4.       Roll Maseca dough into little golf balls for a second time, and flatten each ball between your palms to form tiny little tortillas (again). Place a tiny tortilla over each little pile of black-eyed peas and black beans. Squish the edges of the top tortilla down so that it sticks to the bottom tortilla, completely covering the bean mixture.

5.       Brush each flauta with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Throw the flautas in the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until they seem golden and done-ish.

Once the flautas are in the oven, it’s time to prepare the guac and the salsa.

For the Choca-guaca-mole:

¾ cup bittersweet vegan chocolate baking chips

1 tablespoon soymilk

2 ripe avocados

½ of a red onion

2 tablespoons cilantro leaves (finely chopped)

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 serrano chili (unless you’re a sadist, in which case, use two)

1.       In a small sauce pan, combine chocolate chips and soymilk over medium heat. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on the chocolate to ensure that it doesn’t burn.

2.       Cut avocados in half and remove the seeds.  Scoop the avocado out of the peel and into a mixing bowl. Using a fork, potato masher, or other equally effective mashing device to mash up the avocado.

3.       Remove the stem and seeds from the serrano chili (be careful not to touch your eyes, because serranos are pretty stinkin’ hot).  Mince the onion, cilantro leaves, and serrano, and dump them into the bowl with the mashed avocado.  Squeeze in some lime juice.

4.       Spoon the melty chocolate mixture into the mashed-up avocado mixture.  Stir until well combined.

For the Limeberry Salsa:

1 generous cup blackberries

1 generous cup strawberries

¼ of a red onion

1 teaspoon lime zest

1 – 2 limes

¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves (finely chopped)

¼ cup fresh mint leaves (finely chopped)

1.       Chop up the onion, cilantro leaves, and mint leaves.

2.       Zest and juice the limes.

3.       Dump all of the ingredients into the food processor and give it a whirl.

Serve the flautas hot with the guac and salsa on the side for dipping.

*********

Despite the lengthy and convoluted instructions, this meal was actually ridiculously easy to make.  Plus, it is pretty delicious, if I do say so myself.  The cilantro in the salsa and the serranos in the guac keep the meal from tasting too “deserty” without overpowering the other flavours.  The recipe makes a fair amount of Choca-guaca-mole and Limeberry salsa, so you can try experimenting a bit with the leftovers. I put some of the left over guac and salsa on a sandwich today, and it was absolutely heavenly.

Well, there you have it! My very first original recipe. Thanks for reading!

That’s all for now,

<3 Dana