Fajitas
I made this recipe one evening after a long day. I took care of the meat in the morning, marinated everything, and left it in the fridge until dinner. It helps me a lot to prepare in advance, especially when I know I have a dinner with friends or family coming up. The recipe is simple and doesn’t require complicated techniques, but there are a few details that really matter to pay attention to. Quick Info Total time: approximately 9 hours (including marinating) Actual preparation time: 25-30 minutes Marinating time: at least 2 hours, ideally 8 hours Cooking time: 10-15 minutes Servings: 4-5 people Difficulty: easy to medium Recipe type: main, casual dinner, suitable for platter serving Ingredients For the meat and marinade: - 500 g beef sirloin - 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce - 2 tablespoons olive oil - 2 tablespoons tex-mex spices - Juice of one lime For the filling: - 2 large bell peppers (one green, one red) - 1 large onion - 4-5 tortillas - Sour cream - Sweet chili sauce (store-bought, I got mine from Lidl) For the guacamole: - 1 large avocado - 1 small onion - 1 tomato - 2 cloves of garlic - Juice of half a lime - 2 tablespoons olive oil - Salt Preparation method 1. Marinating the meat The beef should marinate for at least 2 hours, preferably 8. In a bowl, mix the Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, tex-mex spices, and lime juice. Place the whole sirloin in this mixture, massage the meat well, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave it in the fridge until cooking. 2. Preparing the vegetables Slice the bell peppers and onion into long strips, about the thickness of a finger. Keep them handy for cooking. 3. Guacamole Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, and place the flesh in a blender along with the small onion, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, and salt to taste. Blend everything until you get a smooth paste. Finally, fold in the diced tomato gently by hand to avoid mashing it too much. 4. Cooking the meat Remove the meat from the marinade and pat it dry with paper towels. Cut it into long strips, against the grain, about the thickness of a finger. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over high heat and sear the strips of meat on all sides. Don’t overcrowd the pan to avoid steaming. Cooking takes a few minutes, just enough to brown. 5. Cooking the vegetables After removing the meat, add another tablespoon of oil to the same pan and add the sliced vegetables. Sauté them over high heat, stirring often, for a maximum of 5 minutes. They shouldn’t be completely soft, just slightly tender but still crunchy. 6. Assembly and serving Quickly heat the tortillas (directly over the flame or in a dry pan, a few seconds on each side). On each tortilla, place some meat, vegetables, then a tablespoon of guacamole, sour cream, and sweet chili sauce. Fold and serve while warm. Why I make this recipe often I love it because it doesn’t have many steps and I can prepare everything in advance. The marinated meat tastes different, and the vegetables remain crunchy. It’s the kind of recipe that works well for any meal with more people, where everyone can fill their tortilla as they like. Nothing goes to waste, and there’s no need to invent sides. Tips and variations Tips - For more tender meat, don’t skip the marinating. - Cutting the meat against the grain really helps with texture. - The vegetables should be just lightly cooked, don’t let them become mushy. Substitutions - If you don’t have sirloin, you can use ribeye or tenderloin. - You can use either wheat or corn tortillas, depending on what you find. - Sweet chili sauce can be replaced with any sweet-spicy sauce if you can’t find the same brand. Variations - Add jalapeños or other hot peppers if you want it spicier. - You can add grated cheese when serving, if you like. - Instead of guacamole, you can just add slices of avocado. Serving ideas - Serve on a platter, letting everyone assemble their tortillas at the table. - They pair well with a simple tomato salad or boiled corn. Frequently asked questions 1. Does the beef really need to be marinated for that long? Ideally, you should leave it as long as possible, but if you’re short on time, at least 2 hours helps with tenderness and flavor. 2. What spices are in the tex-mex mix? Typically, it contains sweet and hot paprika, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. You can use any store-bought version or improvise if you have these spices. 3. Can I cook everything in advance and reheat it? The meat and vegetables are best right after cooking. If you need to reheat them, do it quickly in the pan to avoid drying out. 4. What can I use instead of sweet chili sauce? You can use any other sweet-hot sauce or even ketchup mixed with a bit of hot sauce. 5. What can I serve if I don’t want sour cream? Greek yogurt or yogurt-based sauces work well too. Nutritional values (estimate) A serving has approximately 450-500 kcal, depending on how much meat and sauces you use. Protein around 28-30g, carbohydrates from tortillas and vegetables about 40g, fats 20g. The sour cream and oil can vary the values, but overall it’s a balanced meal for lunch or dinner. Storage and reheating Cooked meat can be stored in the fridge, covered, for up to 2 days, as can the vegetables. Guacamole oxidizes quickly, so it’s best to make it fresh or cover it well with plastic wrap to avoid contact with air. Tortillas go stale quickly, but can be reheated for 10-15 seconds in a pan. The best taste is when everything is made and served immediately.
Preparation
The guacamole sauce was prepared as follows: I cut the avocado in half, removed the pit, and threw the flesh into the blender along with onion, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, and salt. I blended everything until it was smooth, then incorporated diced tomato pulp into the resulting paste. Now let's move on to the main ingredient: beef. It needs to be marinated for at least two hours. I left it in a super aromatic marinade made of Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, Tex-Mex spices, and lime juice for about 8 hours. In fact, before leaving for work, I tossed all the above ingredients into a bowl along with the beef flank, which I massaged well, then covered the bowl with plastic wrap and left it in the fridge until 5 PM when I got home eager to prepare a quick and delicious dinner. So, I cut the meat into long strips, perpendicular to the grain, about the width of a finger. I did the same with the vegetables, which I also cut into thick long strips. In two tablespoons of olive oil, I browned the meat over high heat on all sides. In the same pan, I browned the vegetables after adding another tablespoon of olive oil. The vegetables should not be soft, just slightly tender. I don’t think I left them on the heat for more than five minutes. I placed the warm meat and vegetables on a platter and we can move on to filling the tortillas: a bit of meat, vegetables, and then a little of each sauce. We fold the tortilla and serve with appetite!! Enjoy!!!
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