A fajita ready to go (and so filled I had to hold it closed)
I decided to ‘go back to my roots’ (or at least to where I was born) this evening by making fajitas for dinner. It’s been almost a year since I last had them (they’re a summer-ish food anyway, especially in a relatively mild European climate), and maybe this is just my inner-Texan speaking (let’s face it, it’s unlikely that any born and at least partly bred Texan remains untainted by the place), but fajitas definitely rank up there on the all-time favorite food list, if not at the top, especially when home made. There’s just something about the work that goes into making all of the individual components, the way you roll it up and eat it with your hands (with the inevitable sour cream/beef gravy combo dripping out towards the end), combined with the Tex-Mex taste that just works for me. Or maybe it’s just the fact that it brings back good memories of being outside on a hot day, scooping up chunky guacamole with blue corn chips while drinking kiddie margharitas (hey, I was at most 8 years old… a little far off the 21 years required to have tequila in it).
Guacamole
I decided to cheat a little today and buy some salsa and the tortillas (I normally buy tortillas, but make the salsa myself). The guacamole and beef marinade however were home made. I have to say though that next time I make them, although it requires far more effort in terms of dicing tomatoes, onions and chillies, it is worth the effort of making my own salsa. Anyway, in case you aren’t aware of how they’re eaten, you get a warm tortilla (flat flour bread), put some guacamole (crushed avocado with tomato chunks, red onion, lime juice, garlic, cilantro) in the middle (spread it around a little), followed by salsa and sour cream (creme fraiche is similar). You then put some strips of beef (marinated in lime juice, garlic and chilli) with some rings of onion and strips of green pepper on top of it all, fold it up and enjoy!
A fajita ready to be rolled...
Oh, and naturally I turned up the volume on some classic country songs (George Strait, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Brooks and Dunn). All that was missing was a little square dancing and… actually, let’s not take this too far.
Guacamole
Serves 4
- 3 avocados
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- Pinch of salt
In a bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice and salt. Mix in the onion, tomatoes, cilantro and garlic. Serve immediately for best flavour. If you put the avocado pit (seed) into the middle of the guacamole, it will stop it (for a while at least) from going brown from the exposure to the oxygen in the air.
Salsa
Serves 12 (supposedly, but with some tortilla chips this gets eaten pretty quickly…)
- 6 roma (plum) tomatoes
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 bunch cilantro, finely minced
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 chilli pepper
- Pinch of salt
In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (this can be prepared ahead of time).
Fajitas
Serves 2 (again, supposedly – I seem to get through this more or less on my own)
- 450g beef (sirloin), sliced diagonally into strips
- 120ml fresh lime juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium chilli
- 1 onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- 6-8 Tortillas (warmed for serving)
- Place the beef strips into a shallow dish. Combine lime juice, garlic, black pepper and chilli and pour over beef, cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
- Remove meat from marinade; drain thoroughly. Cut onion and pepper into 1″ chunks.
- Place 2 tablespoons of oil in frying pan. When oil is hot, brown onion and pepper until onion is slightly brown on edges. Remove onion and pepper; set aside.
- Add 2 tablespoons oil, brown beef, add onion and pepper; cook for 1 minute. Serve in warm flour tortillas.
After all these years I still remember the end-rolling technique to avoid unwanted drips (at least, for the most part...)
