Fajita Traybake Experiment
Today I decided to clean out my Fridge and also to try to use up any left over or open foods that were used over New Year. I was sure I would have enough for perhaps a bit of a traybake - maybe my Paprika Chicken or Spanish chicken … recipes soon to be added here.
I placed all my bits and bobs out on the counter, the usual suspects … onions, garlic, some random vegetables, a bit of chicken but then I stumbled upon a half eaten jar of Doritos Salsa - Hot of course.
…….2 days ago I was coerced into a Sunday afternoon ramble that turned into a bit of mountain climbing with no path and some hazardous cliffs, small holes, high(ish) brush and sporadic sheep - it was so dangerous and hazardous that I was out of breath in parts and was sure that I might suffer a small blister. Truly I thought I’d never be home and dry. And the conditions …. dear god - it was the 3rd of January … the sky was an uninterrupted blue and there wasn’t a breath of wind - I can’t remember the last time we had such extreme conditions!
Once we finally ‘peaked’ and navigated our way down a clear but slightly muddy path we managed to stop and only for the Sloe Gin, Cake, Flap Jacks and Oranges we might have arrived back at our cars hungry and thirsty. Close Call.
Once home I lay in front of a roaring fire and looked out at the rain that had conveniently stayed away for the walk but made my late afternoon all the more cosy. And of course I had tucked into some Tortilla Crisps and Salsa - just to get over the shock of such exertion and ensure that not a calorie was lost for all my effort. It was the remains of this Salsa that sparked an idea. ……
… it occurred to me that I love Mexican food and don’t make enough of it. I love Fajitas but I seem to make a palaver out of it and I thought what if I could do it in the oven … get the flavours …. less smell and not have to start tucking into Creme Fraiche or fiddle around with wraps the first week of the New Year. So I took myself off for a root in the press. I found a few unopened Fajita spices and a jar of jalapeños which I use on pizza and in Chill or on Nachos. The game was on!
There was an unopened jar of Schwartz Fajita Mix. I opened it and sniffed it. Truly I could not get to the bin fast enough to throw it out. Vile! Then I found one from Lidl … it was called Newgate … this was more like it. I’ve always liked Discovery Fajita Mix best but have struggled to find the sachets recently. I decided I could work with the Lidl stuff and thankfully the packet said it was enough for 450 g chicken … I had 500 so we were motoring.
The final conundrum was that other than the essential Peppers and Onions and Garlic … my only other veg was Celery and French Beans .. I googled whether Celery was ever used in Mexican dishes … it would seem the Mexicans are not known for their Celery usage! And the Beans they use are Black or Kidney … not Green or French. But look that’s what I had and I decided they’d be better than the one carrot I had knocking about.
Can I just say - Hello Mexico … you need to start looking a Celery a bit more … it’s right up your street!
I’ve popped the recipe in the section under Chicken and I’ll update it again when I make it next - I’d say if you needed to make it with more chicken you could just add a bit of extra veg and salsa and not worry about the extra fajita mix. Also this was a real - throw it together in advance .. pop it in the fridge and cook it later type of thing. I just served it with rice as a midweek easy dish - but if you fancied getting on board with the wraps and sides … it would have been spot on.
Anyway I’m trying to only keep stuff in my larder that I’ll actually use before it goes out of date or I’ve just use a bit of it … but I’ll be picking up more Fajita Spice next time I’m in Lidl …
Video of dish in Chicken Highlights on my Instagram page.