Fajitas

One of our regular family favourite dinners are fajitas, usually we stick with vegetable ones but sometimes I add chicken too.  I also add in batons of carrot and courgette and often sliced mushrooms if I have them.

If I have a glut of fresh tomatoes I use those for the salsa otherwise I use a tin of chopped ones.  We often have sour cream instead of the yoghurt that is mentioned in this recipe.  I also usually do a bowl of hot rice to go with them too.

The following recipe is a Jamie Oliver one:

Fajitas are basically Mexican-style wraps. A griddle pan gives the nice, charred effect you want with fajitas, but you can also use a large pan or wok. If you use a griddle pan keep the ingredients moving about so that nothing burns or sticks to the bottom.

serves 2
Ingredients
• 1 red pepper
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• a small pinch of ground cumin
• 2 limes
• olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 flour tortillas
• good-quality low-fat natural yoghurt, to serve
• guacamole, to serve
• Cheddar cheese, to serve

For the salsa
• ½-1 fresh red chilli, to your taste
• 15 ripe cherry tomatoes
• a small bunch of fresh coriander
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lime
• extra virgin olive oil

• Put your griddle pan on a high heat 
• Halve and de-seed your pepper and cut it into thin strips 
• Peel, halve and finely slice your onion

• Slice your chicken lengthways into long strips, roughly the same size as your capsicum strips 
• Put the capsicum, onion and chicken into a bowl with the paprika and cumin 
• Squeeze over the juice of half a lime, drizzle over a lug of olive oil, season with a good pinch of pepper and mix well

• Put to one side to marinate for 5 minutes or so while you make your salsa 
• Finely chop your chilli 
• Roughly chop your tomatoes and the coriander, stalks and all

• Put the chilli and tomatoes into a second bowl with a good pinch of pepper and the juice of 1 lime 
• Add a good lug of extra virgin olive oil, then stir in your chopped coriander

• Use a pair of tongs to put all the pieces of pepper, onion and chicken into your preheated pan to cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the chicken is golden and cooked through 
• As the pan will be really hot, keep turning the pieces of chicken and vegetables over so they don’t burn – you just want them to lightly chargrill to give you a lovely flavour
• Give the pan a little love and attention and you’ll be laughing 
• Warm your tortillas up in a microwave or a warm dry pan

• Divide your warmed tortillas between your serving plates
• Halve your remaining lime and squeeze the juices over the sizzling pan 
• At the table, carefully help yourselves to the chicken and vegetables straight from the hot griddle pan 
• Just be sure to put it down on top of something that won’t burn, like a chopping board 
• Serve with pots of yoghurt and guacamole alongside your Cheddar, a grater and your lovely fresh salsa