Fajita tacos for a sunny taste of southern food in the summer
Fajita tacos for a sunny taste of southern food in the summer
Sunny weather and the chance to
enjoy some food outdoors, is what
Philippa Vine is looking forward to
this month, and she has recipes ready
to respond to the next fine forecast
ON SUNNY days our family can be found with sleeves rolled up and sturdy napkins at the ready to avoid being splattered with salsa and sour cream, tucking into a real favourite – fajita tacos.
Fajita means little belt or sash in Spanish and is the name given to the skirt steak which ranch labourers in South Texas used to tenderise by pounding with rocks before grilling on hot coals. Marinating the meat spares the rockery and has the same effect.
Wrap this steak up in a soft flour tortilla smeared with tomato salsa, sour cream, guacomole (so easy to make) and peppers and you have a fajita taco. You can buy tortillas but our children love to help roll out the home-made ones and they do taste better.
Salsa is the zingy equivalent of tomato ketchup, being served with every meal. It is very easy to make and uses up those fresh new tomatoes that are now in abundance.
The marinade I like to use for fajitas comes from the Official Fajita Cookbook which I picked up in New Orleans. It looks as dark as a witches brew but makes an excellent marinade not only for fajitas but for any meat to be barbecued.
For a delicious summer pudding try panna cotta. The Italian for cooked cream, it is cool and light on the tongue – though not so light on calories – and accompanied by seasonal fruits it is an ideal sweet at this time of year.