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 400o 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
