Chicken Fajitas With Salad, Homemade Guacamole & Salsa

Serves: 4-5 (it actually served 3 but my dad and I eat for two and there was some left over for supper – I guess it depends on how greedy your guests are!)

Preparation time: 30 minutes, 15 mins to cook.

We are one week closer to the #FFFChallenge!

Fancy a spicy Tex-Mex start to the challenge with homemade fajitas?

Don’t be put off if you’re not a fan of spice, fat-free natural yoghurt will help cool the zingy sensations, leaving your palate clean and refreshed (alternatively, you can just leave out the chillies).

This is simple dish requires very little equipment and certainly helps you to “eat the rainbow.”

• 1 red pepper
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 medium white onion
• 3 skinless free-range chicken breasts
• 2 spring onions
• 5 medium white mushrooms (optional)
• 5 baby corn (optional)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of paprika
• ½ tablespoon of ground cumin
• ½ tablespoon of ground turmeric
• ½ lime
• Drizzle of olive oil
• 6 whole wheat tortillas (depending on your group size)
• Small bowl of fat-free natural yoghurt (I just let people help themselves from the pot – I need to work on my hosting skills!)

SALSA

• ½-1 fresh red chilli, to your taste
• ½-1 fresh green chilli, to your taste
• 6-18 ripe cherry tomatoes (depending on how much salsa you want)
• A tablespoon of ground coriander (a bunch of fresh coriander is preferable but I only had ground coriander available)
• ½ lime
• Touch of extra virgin olive oil

GUACAMOLE

• 1 small handful of cherry tomatoes
• ½-1 fresh red chilli, to your taste
• ½-1 fresh green chilli, to your taste
• A sprinkle of ground coriander (again, fresh coriander is preferable but I only had ground available)
• A sprinkle of paprika
• A sprinkle of black pepper
• 1 ripe avocado
• ½ lime

SALAD

• I must confess, I just get a bag of baby leaf and rocket salad from my local supermarket and stick it in a bowl – Spinach, rocket and watercress – job done! You can make your own if you fancy yourself as a bit of a salad nerd 🤓.

1. If you have a griddle pan, put it on high heat to warm. Being ever the minimalist, I don’t own a griddle pan so I make do with my trusty George Foreman fat reducing grill! Believe me; my Georgey baby is the only piece of equipment I need to fulfil my nutritional needs. Everything else is just a bonus! (other brands are available of course!)
2. Cut a ring around the top of the pepper and pull off the top to deseed. Then slice into thin, long strips.
3. Peel and finely slice both onions and spring onions.
4. Chop the mushrooms and baby corn longways into strips about the length of the peppers.
5. Slice the chicken into long strips, again about the same size as the pepper strips.
6. Put the pepper, onions, mushrooms, baby corn and chicken into a food bag with the paprika, cumin and turmeric. Crush in the garlic cloves and squeeze in the juice of half a lime.
7. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the bag and season with a good pinch of black pepper if you wish (I don’t bother, the ingredients are good enough on their own; although, I need to look into pink Himalayan salt which I have heard is full of minerals and trace elements – If there are any nutritionists in the house I would love to hear your thoughts!)

Mix all the ingredients well in the bag and put aside to marinate while you make the salsa and guacamole.

1. For the salsa, chop the chilli into fine pieces along with the tomatoes and mix in a bowl with the coriander. Squeeze in the juice of ½ a lime to your taste and mix it all together. If you want to make the tomatoes super fine, use some scissors to chop all the ingredients up in the bowl. If you use fresh coriander throw the stalks in as well, you rebel!
2. To make the guacamole, slice a ripe (must be soft) avocado in half around the seed. Dispose of the seed and squeeze the two halves into a bowl so the avocado’s flesh comes out of the skin. Discard the skin. Mash the avocado into a fine paste.
3. Cut the cherry tomatoes and red chilli into small pieces. Add to the mashed avocado along with the paprika and black pepper and loosely squeeze in some lime to your taste.
4. To make the guacamole fine I use a small pair of scissors to chop everything up.
5. Mix the ingredients together and you have your guacamole!

1. USING A SAFE FORM OF APPARATUS, place the contents of the food bag onto the grill (or griddle pan). No humans were injured during the making of this #FFF; however, I may have melted the top of the bag on the grill in my first attempt, so be warned!
2. Cook for around 7 minutes, opening and closing the grill, until the chicken is golden and cooked through. Keep moving/turning the chicken and vegetables over so they don’t burn – you just want a light chargrill to give you a lovely flavour.
3. Once cooked, transfer the chicken and vegetables straight from the hot grill pan to a warm tray (to keep everything warm). If you are using a griddle pan you can set that down on the table – preferably on top of something that won’t burn, like a chopping board – Yes, your mother-in-law’s lap does burn!
4. Heat the tortillas slightly in a warm, dry frying pan or microwave, and serve on separate plates.
5. Leave the pot of natural yoghurt on the side with a teaspoon for people to add to their fajitas (if you’re a grade A host, with etiquette and manners, you may have this in a small bowl – clearly I’m not!).
6. Also serve with the bowls of salad, guacamole, and fresh, zingy salsa.