Steak Fajitas with Homemade Guacamole and Cheese

Fajitas are not the traditional Mexican dish many people think. They are rather a product of the, "Tex Mex," cuisine culture, which is largely a development of Mexican immigrants to the United States, making the most of the ingredients available in their adopted country. Fajitas were originally produced using skirt steak but have of course now developed to incorporate a great many different meats, particularly chicken. Skirt steak is not generally known for its tenderness, so any type of frying steak can actually be used in this recipe.

Ingredients per Serving

1/4lb frying steak
1 red bell pepper
1 small onion
2 closed cup mushrooms
Salt and pepper
Sunflower oil for frying

1 small ripe avocado
1 red chilli pepper
1 clove of garlic
Juice of 1/4 lemon

2oz grated cheddar cheese

3 tortilla wraps

Method

Ideally, the guacamole should be prepared an hour or more in advance. This will allow the flavours time to infuse. It is vital that the avocado be fairly ripe in order that it can be peeled and de-stoned effectively. Note that not all varieties of avocado darken in colour as they ripen and the way to judge ripeness is that they should be moderately soft to the touch.

The avocado should be put in to a small bowl with the lemon juice and mashed with a fork. The red chilli pepper should be de-seeded, finely chopped and added to the mix, along with the peeled and grated garlic clove. Salt and pepper should be added, the guacamole stirred well and covered with clingfilm, to be refrigerated until required.

The serving dish will require to be pre-heated, so prior to starting frying, I placed it in to a low to medium oven. I have used a wok to cook the meat and vegetables in this recipe but a large, deep frying pan will suffice. The wok should be brought up to a high heat and around one tablespoon of sunflower oil added. The steak should be cut in to strips and fried quickly to seal the meat. The heat should then be reduced slightly and the pepper, onion and mushroom added to the wok, to stir fry for a couple of minutes. The heated serving dish should then be removed from the oven to a wooden board and the hot steak and vegetables dished up.

The tortilla wraps served here were supermarket bought but making them yourself is a fairly straightforward process. The wraps should be presented on a dinner plate, along with the grated cheese and the guacamole in small bowls.

There are no rules for assembling steak or any other form of fajitas. What I like to do, however, is spread a little guacamole on the tortilla, add some steak and veg and top it off with cheese before rolling it up.