Fajitas, Tomato Rice and Salsa

Oh, you know I love a bit of Mexican food!

I can't help myself, and I know that I have done fajitas before on the blog (and this recipe is much the same) but I’ve added some absolutely scrummy sides which just serve to enhance the whole shebang, so I’m posting them again, this time as part of a full meal.

The sides in question are a flavourful roasted tomato salsa and some spiced tomato rice. Now, I know. I am not the biggest fan of tomatoes, and this meal is fairly tomato-heavy. But we all have whims, and I just felt like having tons of tomatoes that day! Feel free to make the salsa and go with plain rice if it all feels a bit  much, or ditch the salsa altogether. Speaking of salsa, you can use this recipe at other times, especially excellent for dipping tortilla chips.

I will finish by saying that I love fajitas. I don’t know who doesn’t (well, apart from my long-suffering boyfriend). For me, fajitas are the perfect midweek meal – meaty morsels of succulently spiced chicken, balanced on top of some flavourful rice and wrapped up warm in a tortilla blanket. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.

Serves 4 (or two greedy people plus leftovers!)

Ingredients for the Fajitas

• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp turmeric
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 chicken breasts, sliced into strips
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ red onion, sliced
• 1 pepper, diced
• 1 tsp oil
• Handful of grated cheese
• 4 tortilla wraps

Ingredients for the Rice

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 garlic clove, diced
• 3 scallions, sliced
• ½ chilli, finely chopped
• ½ tin plum tomatoes
• 110g basmati rice
• 300ml chicken stock
• 50g carrots, chopped v small

Ingredients for the Salsa

• 2 tomatoes, whole
• 2 gloves garlic, peeled
• 1 small jalapeno, seeds removed
• ½ red onion, halved again
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Pinch salt

Method

Let’s start with the fajitas – place the spices in a bowl with the lemon juice and mix. Add in the chicken slices, stir to coat and allow to marinate while the rest is started.

Begin the salsa by preheating the oven to 220 degrees Celsius, and spreading the vegetables on a foil-lined tray. Drizzle with a smidge of oil and roast for 15-20 minutes until smelling lovely.

All you need to do for the rest of the salsa is to place the roasted veggies plus the coriander, lemon juice and salt into a food processor and blitz until smooth (or chunky if you’re into that!). Adjust seasoning if required and serve.

While the salsa veg is roasting, however, get a start on the rice. Fry the garlic and scallions in the oil for a few minutes. Throw in the chilli.

Then stir through the chopped tomatoes and add the rice. Cook for a few minutes before adding the stock, bringing to a simmer and letting cook for 15 minutes. 5 minutes before the end of cooking, throw in the carrot.

Now, while the rice is cooking, lets assemble the fajitas – fry the well-marinated chicken in some oil and stir through the onion and garlic and pepper. Let cook until the chicken has been cooked through which only takes a few minutes.

Heat a pan, and place a tortilla in it and let heat for 30 seconds. Then flip over, and fill the tortilla with your chosen amounts of cheese, then rice, then chicken.

Remove to a plate, douse liberally in salsa and roll up.

Chow down!