Flautas de Papa

When I was little, my mom used to take us kids to a restaurant we named "El Ranchito" in Tijuana, because it reminded of us a dirty old ranch. Yes, I know what you're thinking: why would our mom take us there? Seriously, back then (like 23 years ago) that was an outing we all looked forward to. And my absolute favorite dish was the potato flautas. This dish is so easy to make especially if you have a lot of leftover mashed potatoes. You can definitely add other fillings like chicken or shredded beef, but you can not go wrong with the potato filling!

INGREDIENTS

• Leftover mashed potatoes
• Corn tortillas
• Vegetable or canola oil for frying
• Toothpicks, for holding
• Toppings: shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, crumbled Mexican cheese (or substitute crumbled feta or farmer's cheese), guacamole, sour cream, etc...

DIRECTIONS

For flautas: Heat 4 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil in a skillet. Cook corn tortillas, one at a time, in hot oil until soft, about 5 to 10 seconds; drain on paper towels.

Lay a corn tortilla on the counter or on a plate. Spread some of the potato filling (a heaping tablespoon) in the middle of the tortilla. Be careful, or it will spill out when you roll it up.

Fold the bottom half of the tortilla over the filling towards the top. Fold the top half of the tortilla tightly down over the bottom. Secure with a toothpick, pushing it centrally through all of the layers, or use two; one on each end. Repeat until the filling is gone.

Heat up about 1/2" inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet that's 2" to 3" deep to medium high. Fry however many taquitos will fit on the bottom of the pan without overlapping. When the bottoms are golden brown, flip them over and cook the second side the same way. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle a little salt on them while hot and remove the toothpicks.

To serve: place two to three flautas on a plate. You can serve the toppings on the side or top them yourself with shredded lettuce, guacamole, diced tomatoes, cheese and a dollop of sour cream. I usually just eat my potato flautas with crumbled cheese on top and a side of guac.