Chicken fajitas with homemade tortillas

I always think about how much my understanding of food has changed over the last decade or so – I feel grateful for how much I have learned after I started writing this blog, back in 2006.

Back then, I had already been cooking for seventeen years, for at the age of 11 I was already cooking dinner for 5 people every night. But after the blog I have come to learn dishes I had never heard of before, new ingredients, amazing flavors, and all of that has improved my cooking immensely.

I first heard of fajitas a long time ago, and I don’t even remember where I first saw it. After that, I ate them a few times in a Tex-Mex restaurant, but I can tell you that nothing, nothing beat homemade fajitas, especially if they are served with homemade tortillas – it is a whole new thing completely.

These tortillas are so delicious that I make them quite often, even to be served with guacamole only – after he tried these for the first time, my husband told me he would never eat store bought tortillas again. :)

Chicken fajitas with homemade tortillas
own creation, inspired by lots of sources

Chicken:
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a few drops of Tabasco
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
a few drops of Worcestershire sauce
1 large clove of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 chicken fillets (about 250g in total), cut into strips
1 small yellow bell pepper (about 150g), sliced
1 small red onion, sliced in half moons
1 tablespoon water

Tortillas:
2/3 cup (94g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (46g) whole wheat flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup (80ml) warm water

Start by marinating the chicken: in a shallow medium bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, salt, pepper, Tabasco, cumin, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Add the bay leaves and the chicken and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, 2 hours if possible.

Now, the tortillas: in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix well the flours, baking powder and salt. Add the oil and water and mix on medium speed until a smooth and elastic dough forms, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 6 equal portions – each should be about 40g. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of dough until you get a thin circle, 20-22cm (8-9in) in diameter. Heat a large nonstick frying pan over high heat. Grill each disc of dough for 1-2 minutes each side, or until a few brown spots appear on the surface – if you want soft tortillas, immediately transfer them to the plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel; if you want crispy tortillas, let them cool on a wire rack, without overlapping them. Repeat the process with all the remaining dough.

Cook the chicken: on a large nonstick frying pan over high heat, heat the remaining olive oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until tender. Add the chicken and cook, stirring a few times, until chicken is golden and cooked through, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the water, scrape the bottom of the pan to remove the delicious burnt bits and then serve immediately with the tortillas and guacamole, if desired.

Serves 2

Chilli con carne and guacamole, and being cocky

I guess that once you start cooking and baking and the years go by it’s sort of inevitable to become a little cocky: I try to exercise modesty on a daily basis, but there are times when I’m eating something – savory or sweet – and I think: “I could make this, and a lot tastier” (and I bet some of you reading this right now are nodding your heads in agreement, relating to that feeling). :D

And let’s not forget that we can make the food better and for a lot less money.

I’ve managed to cut down our meat intake quite substantially (which is great), but our occasional fixes include chilli con carne, something my husband loves to eat when we go out for Tex-mex food (I lean towards guacamole, just love the stuff). I told him I would try making the chilli con carne at home and he was more than pleased with the idea.

I immediately reached out for Dean Edwards’ wonderful cookbook and the result was an amazing chilli con carne: very flavorsome, spicy to perfection, and insanely easy to make. I prepared the chilli con carne in advance and urge you to do the same if at all possible: it tasted great the day I made it, but it was even better the day I served it. The recipe below yields a lot and leftovers are delicious over some fluffy rice or as pasta sauce.

For the guacamole, I used one of Martha’s recipes – after mixing the ingredients, I drizzled the mixture with plenty of freshly squeezed lime juice, which not only boosts the flavor but also stops the avocado from getting brown. It tasted really good and paired perfectly with the carnivore part of our meal.

Chilli con carne
slightly adapted from the delicious Mincespiration!

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
500g beef mince
1 large onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 small red pepper, deseeded and finely diced
3 bacon rashers, finely sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 × 400g cans of chopped tomatoes
1 × 400g can of red kidney beans – I used 150g pinto beans I’d cooked the day before
200ml beef stock
sea salt black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
20g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), grated
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander, for serving

Heat half the olive oil in a large saucepan over high heat and brown the mince. Do this in batches if necessary so you don’t overcrowd the pan. Remove the beef from the saucepan and set aside. Add the remaining olive oil to the saucepan and cook the onion, garlic, pepper and bacon for about 5 minutes or until golden and fragrant. Add the cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and oregano and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Tip the mince back into the pan and add the tomatoes and stock. Cover the pan and cook over a low heat for an hour, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t catch in the bottom of the saucepan. Add the beans (and more water if mixture is too dry) and cook for another 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, add the sugar and chocolate and stir to incorporate. Sprinkle with chopped coriander before serving. If making it in advance, let cool completely before refrigerating, covered.

Serves 5-6

Guacamole
slightly adapted from Martha

1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
1 large red chilli, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper
2 ripe Hass avocados
1 small tomato chopped
juice of 1 large lime

In a large bowl, mix together the onion, chilli, 2 tablespoons of the cilantro, salt and black pepper. Crush the avocados into the onion mixture, leaving the mixture chunky. Fold in the tomatoes. Drizzle with the lime juice and mix to combine.
Sprinkle over remaining cilantro and serve.

Serves 2-3