Pumpkin, Potato, & Feta Flautas

Well October happened really fast. I enjoyed it but it felt like it only lasted a week. Now if November can just calm the heck down & relax, all will be well again. I just hate when all of sudden it's the middle of November & the dreadful countdown to Christmas begins. Not that I don't love Christmas... I do! I'm just not a planner. Some people call it procrastination. (I like to think I work well under pressure but that's what every procrastinator says so what do I know?!)

So every year my lack of preparation forces me to undergo my true "Nightmare Before Christmas" ... last minute shopping with a bunch of other lazy maniacs at whatever store still has shelves stocked with potential gifts. And every year that leads to at least one mental breakdown. (who am I kidding? I"m a girl! I have a mental breakdown once a month.)

So come on November... lets play nice! After all, you are my favorite month so be good to me! 

Time may be flying but there's one thing I know for sure. It's pumpkin time! Everywhere you go, there will be pumpkin. Pumpkin flavored this & pumpkin stuffed that. If you're a fan of it, then this is your favorite time of year. If you're not a fan of it, then you're probably super annoyed & grumpy during this time of year & I'd advise that you leave this page immediately cause it's gonna get much worse for you...

Because if you didn't get it from the title of this post, I made flautas...

and I put PUMPKIN in it!!

Last night I made these delicious pumpkin stuffed flautas. Since pumpkin can be a bit bland , I was a bit nervous that the flavor would be boring. But I think I added just enough spices to still show off some pumpkin flavor &  make my taste buds happy.

I paired the pumpkin with some potatoes but I think black beans would also be a good substitution or addition.

Top the flautas with your choice of salsa, greens, and cheese. I made a quick creamy avocado & cilantro salsa by pureeing one large avocado, a minced jalapeno, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp garlic powder, a little less than 1 oz of cream cheese, & a tiny handful of chopped cilantro. I spread some on top of the warm flautas along with some feta & cilantro. 

I also made some spicy spanish rice but I'll post that recipe later this month.

Pumpkin, Potato, & Feta Flautas

Ingredients:

3 small russet potatoes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

quarter of an onion, chopped (it was all I had left on hand)

1/2 cup chopped spinach

1 can pumpkin puree

1 tsp chili powder

1 & 1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground coriander

feta crumbles

fresh cilantro

flour tortillas 

oil for frying ( I used grapeseed)

Boil the potatoes in water until tender and fork can easily pierce it, about 20-30 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the water and let them cool for about 5 minutes. Dice them into 1/2"-1" cubes. 

Heat oil on medium-high heat and add chopped onions, potatoes, & salt. Stir and saute until the onion are tender.

While the onions are cooking, mix the pumpkin puree with the chili powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, & coriander in a large bowl. Once the onions are ready add the chopped spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and add to the pumpkin. Stir until well mixed. 

To make the assembly of the flautas much easier, slightly warm the tortillas before filling. This helps them not to break while rolling them and in return you won't break something in your kitchen by angrily throwing shit around.

Don't over-stuff your tortillas because you want to be able to roll them up somewhat tight. I made about 12 flautas. Place some filling on the edge of one side of the tortilla and add some feta cheese and a few cilantro leaves. Roll them as tight as you can and secure with toothpicks.

Once all of your flautas are ready to fry, heat your oil of choice (you want the flautas to be covered about 1/2 way up in the pan). Place the flautas in the pan and brown on each side. 

Remove and top with salsa, cilantro, and more cheese.

Enjoy!