Fajitas, Swindian style

One of my biggest problem with fajitas (and in life) is that I don’t like tomatoes. I wish I did, I really do, because it would make life a lot easier. However, it does mean I sometimes have to get a little more creative when I make dishes that require tomato (one example is my aubergine and beef stew), which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. With this fajita recipe, I simply omitted the tomato paste/puree that goes in the meat, as well as the salsa, but substituted with lots of spices. If you follow this recipe, you are of course more than welcome to smother your tortilla wrap in salsa – I simply used sour cream and home-made guacamole.

Fajitas are always a great dish to make when you have people over, as you make your guests work in assembling their own food! I actually made this last week for a few people, but I forgot to write down the exact ingredients and take pictures, so I decided to make it again today, just for the blog. The reason I call these fajitas ‘Swindian-style’ is due to the lack of tomato, but also the addition of a few Indian spices. They turned out really nicely, and I am already looking forward to dinner tomorrow, when I can have the leftovers!

Serves 3-4 people

• 400g beef mince
• 1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped into small pieces
• 300g mushrooms, sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 tsp cumin powder
• 1.5 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp chicken stock powder
• 1.5 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Generous shakes of Creole salt
• Generous grindings of fresh black pepper
• Salt (to taste)

Heat the olive oil in a pan on high heat and fry the garlic until it is fragrant and slightly brown at the edges. Then add the mince and fry on high heat, stirring frequently, until it is around 50% cooked. Add in all the vegetables and let cook for around 5 minutes, so that the mushrooms shrink. Then add all the spices (cumin, coriander, paprika, chili, chicken stock, mixed herbs, lemon juice, Creole salt, pepper and salt) and cook for another 5 minutes until everything is thoroughly mixed. Taste it and adjust for salt as wished.

Take a tortilla wrap, spread sour cream/guacamole/salsa as desired, pile on the filling, wrap up and enjoy!