Sunday, April 19, 2009

Baked Flautas with Roasted Corn Salad

Posted by Erin Wilburn / 5 comments » / pork, slow cooker

At my job, sometimes my producer/client will order lunch in. In a way it’s fun to get lunch free, and to try out dishes from restaurants. But, it’s a bit of a minefield for me because I try to eat somewhat healthy. At one restaurant, I got the Flautas, not knowing what they were really. I was a little bummed to discover they were fried. Don’t get me wrong, they were good, it’s just I try to not eat fried foods. So the other day while “blog surfing” I found a recipe for baked flautas. I had a pork roast in the freezer I could use up, and this seemed like a great meal to prepare on Friday, my day of recovering from my busy work week.

I’m also submitting this to a blogging event for Mexican inspired foods. Joelen does these great blogging events, you should check out her webpage for more info. Previously I submitted these Spicey Honey Brushed Chicken Thighs for a blogging event focusing on measuring tools. It’s a fun little thing to do, and it gets exposure to your blog!

Carnitas
adapted & inspired by David Lebowitz & All Recipes

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon Pampered Chef Chiptole Chile Rub (or ancho chili powder)
1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
2 bay leaves
1-2 jalapenos, seeds & membrane removed
water

Rub the pieces of pork shoulder all over with salt. Refrigerate for 1- to 3-days. (You can skip this step if you want. Just be sure to salt the pork before searing the meat in the next step.)

Heat the oil in a skillet on the stovetop. Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, cinnamon, chili powder, and chipotle chili powder in a bowl. Coat pork with the spice mixture. Cook the pieces of pork shoulder in a single layer until very well-browned, turning them as little as possible so they get nice and dark before flipping them around.

Remove pork from pan and transfer to slow cooker. Pour a little water into the pan and swirl around to get the browned bits loosened. Add to slow cooker. Add enough water to almost cover the pork, but not quite. Layer sliced jalapenos on top. Cover and cook on high for 9-10 hours, or low for 4-5 hours.

Remove from slow cooker and shred with two forks, discarding excess fat.

Flautas
from foodstuff

10-12 flour tortillas (I used whole wheat, and they tasted great)
shredded carnitas (above)
2 cups shredded cheese
1 can black beans
1 cup salsa
1/2 onion, minced
Olive oil for brushing over tops

Preheat oven to 375. Warm tortillas in foil for 10 minutes in oven. Spread a little of each ingredient in a line down the middle of the tortilla and roll up as tight as possible. Place on greased cookie sheet, seam side down. Once, you’ve made them all, brush with olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve with salsa and guacamole.

Roasted Corn Salad
adapted from Recipezaar

4 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1/2 small red bell pepper, finely diced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
avocado (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix all ingrediants, except cilantro, together in a large bowl.

Spread ingredients onto a large cookie sheet in a thin layer. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes. If you are using frozen corn you will need to increase your roasting time by about 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool.  Garnish with avocado if desired.