Now when it came to making some Fajita’s and homemade Tortillas, we went straight to the internet to see what advice there was and how easy tortillas were to make (we had made naan bread before, so were interested to see how it compared).
We found a great set of videos on youtube by Chef Jason Hill, which were very detailed and are brilliant for anyone wanting to learn how to make either fajitas and fajita marinade, tortillas, guacamole, salsa and many more recipes.
The tortillas were a lot easier than we were expecting. With only four ingredients and a few steps (mix, rest, roll, cook) it was easy and quite cheap to make and tasted much better than the bought tortillas.
The fajita marinade was full of great flavours and extremely fresh and lovely. We’ve already made this twice, but it’s certainly on the list of meals to make again and again…. Hope you all enjoy!
The meat for the fajitas takes a while to marinate, therefore start making that first.
Fajitas and Tortillas
Recipes adapted from Chef Jason Hill on youtube
Tortillas
Makes: 12-16 (Serves 6-8)
4 cups plain flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup vegetable shortening or butter (113g butter)
1½ teaspoons salt
1–1¼ cups warm water
Put flour, baking powder and shortening or butter together into a bowl. Work together with hands for a few minutes until you get a coarse meal.
Mix the salt in with the warm water and then add it to the flour mix. Mix it to form a dough – add the extra ¼ cup water if need be, I found this to be necessary. Work together to form a ball. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
Break into 12-16 little balls. Preheat fry pan or crepe pan to medium heat.
Roll out balls on lightly floured work surface until a thin round tortilla is formed. Place on preheated saucepan and cook until the underside starts to brown 15-30seconds. Turn over and cook the other side.
Once cooked, place on half a tea towel and cover with the rest of the tea towel to keep warm, cook the fajita filling at this stage.
Fajitas
Makes enough for 12-16 tortillas
1 tablespoon olive oil
500g steak (we used rump), sliced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 red capsicums, deseeded and cut into strips
1 green capsicum, deseeded and cut into strips
Guacamole
Sour cream
Grated Cheese
re-fried beans (see recipe below)
Fajita marinade
1 cup water
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chilli powder
pinch cloves, ground
4 cloves crushed garlic
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
Small bunch of cilantro/coriander
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 orange
Put water in a bowl; add juices to water, then all other ingredients except the olive oil. Whisk in the olive oil slowly. Let it sit for 30 minutes before using.
Marinate the meat for 30minutes – 1 hour.
Heat a wok or pan to medium high. Place oil in pan and add onions, cooking for 5 minutes, until slightly translucent. Add a few tablespoons of the fajita marinade. Add capsicums and cook for 5 minutes. Remove and place in a bowl.
Add the marinated meat in a few batches and cook until just browned. Keep cooked batches covered while you finish the cooking. Remove all the meat and add the remaining marinade, cook until bubbling. Add vegetables to warm up and absorb some marinade.
Place a tortilla on a plate, add some of the meat, vegetables, grated cheese, guacamole and sour cream in a line in the centre, leaving room at one edge to fold up. Once the bottom is folded up, fold in the sides and eat.
Re-fried Beans
Nick’s recipe
1 can (400g) red kidney beans (or whole Pinto beans, if you can find them), rinsed in water
1 onion, finely diced
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cook the onion in olive oil until translucent, then add the garlic. Cook for a few more minutes, then add the beans. Heat through, then use a potato masher and mash the beans until it forms a thick paste-like mixture. Serve with fajitas.
