Apparently the world is going to end soon. We have experienced an earthquake AND are about to endure a tropical storm in Boston within the same week! In an effort to empty our fridge of perishables, Brad and I made these chicken fajitas for dinner last night. I call them Fiery Fajitas after the red and orange peppers, and slight heat on the chicken. I think this recipe would work well with marinated beef or portabello slices too. Just putting that out there. But if you use the beef don't slice it until after it's cooked and rested. Otherwise it will be dry...and that would be the end of the world!
Chicken Fajitas
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp chili paste (you can add more if you like it spicier)
zest and juice of one lime
1 tsp cumin
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
either 1/2 tsp dried cilantro or chopped cilantro to taste
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 bell peppers (we used orange and red, but you can use any color you have/like)
1/2 large onion or 1 small onion
Tortillas
Make the marinade in a small bowl. Combine the garlic, chili paste, lime zest and juice, cumin, soy sauce, brown sugar and cilantro. Set that aside. Cut the chicken into half inch slices across the breast. In a zip top bag or even a medium container with a lid, combine the marinade and chicken. Let it sit in the fridge for anywhere between 30 minutes and a day.
When you're ready to cook, slice your bell peppers into strips from top to bottom. (You knew to cut around the stem to get the seeds out, and to cut off that white membrane on some of the ribs inside the pepper, right? Good.) Cut the onion in from top to bottom and then slice each half so the slices look like rainbows. Separate the layers of the onions a little so you have "onion strips". Put a little olive oil in a large frying pan and warm it over medium heat. Saute the onions with a pinch of salt (so they throw their juice and make this great glaze for the veggies) until they are just softening and turning translucent. (Here's the part where Brad helped! Hooray!) Add the peppers and really turn up the heat. Stir them frequently but not constantly so you get good caramelization on the onions and a little browning/char on the peppers. The cooking on high heat should take no more than five minutes, or so. Set the veggies aside and cover them with foil to keep them warm.
Return your pan to the heat and cook the marinated chicken on high heat until it is cooked through. It shouldn't take too long for it to be cooked through. Maybe 10 minutes, max.
You can either mix the cooked meat with the cooked veggies, or you can set them in separate containers and set out a buffet of toppings like they do at Chili's with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, guacamole, or whatever. We just had sour cream.
Make sure your tortillas are warm and pliable, pile on the fillings and chow down! :o)
Also, I recommend this song while preparing the dish. Somehow it just amplifies the vibrancy of the flavors, colors and smells!
Hopefully you won't be cooking this amid natural disaster, like we are. But if you are, I recommend listening to this:
