What About a Flauta?....Baked Vegan Black Bean/Sweet Potato Flautas!!

This recipe brings me back to my restaurant days - a healthy version that is...

"My boys" (the line cooks) would make comida late in the evening for the kitchen staff, right before closing time.  A popular dish they would make were flautas.  I never really had an authentic flauta until they made me one.  They consisted of tortillas stuffed with mashed potatoes (meat for those that ate it) and then would deep fry them to crispy perfection.  And oh my goodness were they good!  There was only one problem though, they were glutenous and greasified!  I would limit myself to just eating a few bites because of this.  Who really wants a mouth filmed with grease?

If you are not familiar with the term flauta, think of a taquito.  And if you are not familiar with either, a flauta is a flour tortilla, filled with meat, cheese and/or mashed potatoes, and then rolled up into a very very small burrito  FYI- flauta means "flute" (makes sense).  Taquito is the exact same thing, though using corn tortillas. 

So, I came up with a fun, nutritious, baked version of the oh so satisfying flauta.  To make it tasty, vegan and healthy, I chose to fill it with sweet potatoes and black beans.  Protein, veggies, filling, crispy, and not greasy!  Heck yes!!!!

Baked Vegan Black Bean - Sweet Potato Flautas

 Ingredients (made 8 flautas)

1 sweet potato
1 can black beans drained & rinsed
1/2 tbsp vegan butter (earth balance)
1 tbsp favorite hot sauce divided
2 tbsp chopped jalapenos (optional)
flour tortillas
2 tbsp evoo
garlic powder
s+p




Directions:
Preheat oven 400.  With a fork, poke various holes in sweet potato, cover with foil and bake 45 min - 1 hour.  Remove from oven when done and let cool until able to handle.
Turn oven to 425.
 Once cooled, peel, smash and add vegan butter, 1/2 tbsp of hot sauce, jalapenos (optional), garlic powder and s+p.
With your black beans, you can either keep as is or smash slightly with fork.  I chose to smash them a bit.
To assemble the flauta, take moist paper towels and fold over tortillas.  Microwave for about 15 seconds (this allows them to be soft while rolling without breaking).  No microwave? (I do not have one) No problem- throw in oven for a few minutes with the wet papertowels.
Line each tortilla with black beans and mashed sweet potatoes.  Roll tightly and brush each one with EVOO, making sure you coat all sides.  Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes, starting with the folded side down.  Flip and turn to broil and bake another 3-5 minutes or so.  Make sure you check on them frequently as each oven is different.
Remove from oven and let cool.  Serve with your favorite mexican sauces.  I used creamy guac and salsa.