Frida Kahlo’s Red and Green Chicken Flautas

The star of today’s Frida Friday series starring traditional Mexican dishes la famosísima painter Frida Kahlo served in her home are these chicken flautas, with red and green sauce. This dish was served at a party Frida threw for friends and family during the feast of Three Kings or Epiphany in 1942, though flautas de pollo were surely enjoyed year-round by all in La Casa Azul, where Frida famously lived with her querido esposo, the muralist Diego Rivera.

This authentic recipe is típica of the cuisine of Guadalajara and Puebla, favorites of Frida and Diego’s, according to the cookbook Frida’s Fiestas: Recipes and Reminiscences of Life with Frida Kahlo,  co-written by Guadalupe Rivera, Diego’s daughter, and Marie-Pierre Colle. Our spotlight on flautas de pollo—tightly rolled, fried corn tortilla tacos—is in honor of the seven-city Immersive Frida Kahlo show, the Mexican painter’s work and larger-than-life vida are being celebrated in light, sound and immersive visuals in: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto. For more information and tickets, visit https://www.immersive-frida.com.

And if you happen to live or be in the Chicago area, catch more Frida at the National Museum of Mexican Art. Home to one of the largest Mexican art collection in the United States, the museum is hosting two shows about the artista this year. The first is Surrounding Kahlo: Works from the Permanent Collection, March 5, 2022 to January 15, 2023. The second is Frida Kahlo, Her Photos, a powerful exhibition of her own photography, open April 1 through August 6, 2022. We plan to go to all three shows here at Familia Kitchen. And then come home and cook like her!

In the meantime, let’s eat—like Frida!

Hungry for Frida’s Red and Green Chicken Flautas?

Frida Kahlo’s Red and Green Chicken Flautas

Recipe by Guadalupe Rivera, Frida’s Fiestas: Recipes and Reminiscences of Life with Frida Kahlo

3.5 from 2 votes

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings

6 to 8

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Ingredients

• 20 large tortillas, corn

• 1 cup lamb, cooked and shredded

• 1 cup chicken breast, cooked and shredded

• 3 to 4 cups corn oil, to cover and fry the flautas in batches

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 head romaine lettuce, shredded

• 1/2 lb añejo cheese, crumbled (or parmesan)

• Red Sauce

• 12 guajillo chiles, roasted

• 1 or 2 garlic cloves, roasted

• salt, to taste

• Green Sauce

• 20 tomatillos

• 4 serrano chiles

• 1 clove garlic

• salt, to taste

• 1 avocado, peeled and mashed

Directions

• Fill 10 tortillas with lamb and 10 with chicken2. Roll tightly and fry in very hot oil
• Drain on brown paper (or double-stacked paper towels).
• Arrange the flautas on a serving platter.
• Top one end of the flautas with red sauce.
• Top the other end with green sauce.
• Pour the creme in between—to resemble the Mexican flag.
• Garnish with lettuce and sprinkle with the cheese.
• Red Sauce
• To make the red sauce, soak the guajillo chiles in hot water for 15 minutes
• Puree with the garlic, the salt to taste, and as much water as needed to make medium-thick suce
• Green Sauce
• To make the green sauce, cook tomatillos, serrano chiles and garlic in a small amount of salted water.
• Puree and mix with avocado.

Notes

• These red-white-and green flautas de pollo—like the Mexican bandera—are ideal to cook and serve for a national Mexican holiday, such as Mexico’s Independence Day, Sept. 15!