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Brighton & Hove Albion, chicken fajita, Chillies, fajita, guacamole, jaggery, paprika, sour cream, tomato salsa
When you’re coming up with something new or different to try, one of the problems often encountered when reading from a recipe is ‘I don’t have that ingredient…’.
In my 10 years of cookery experimentation / wild guesswork, I’ve found that most – though not all – things have a perfectly reasonable alternative. A recipe might be for chicken, when pork will work just as well. Or sage and rosemary for basil, or even Leffe Blond beer for Marsala wine when making a zabaglione (posh Italian custard).
To this end, I made that great party favourite chicken fajitas last night.
Normally, I coat the chicken before cooking in chilli powder, garlic and salt & pepper.
However, in marinading the chicken, I realised that with the different version I was doing, I needed – and had run out of – of all things, sugar. I only needed a little bit, but it does make all the difference. Thankfully, lurking somehwere in the back of the cupboard was some jaggery – Indian palm sugar. I’ve no idea where it how it came to be there, mind. It’s got a bit of a ‘firm sugar / loose toffee’ texture and taste, and it did the job brilliantly.
So…
I cut four chicken breats into thin strips, about 2cm wide. I marinaded it in two teaspoons of paprika (the spice of the Gods), a teaspoon of chilli powder, the zest and juice of a lime, a chopped dwarf chilli (there’s a plant growing on our dining room table), a couple of chopped garlic cloves, a pinch of cinnamon, a half a teaspoon of the aforementioned jaggery, some chopped fresh oregano and a little white pepper. Coat the mix in with the chicken, smothering it well and leaving to marinade for an hour or so, longer if you feel like it.
Is doing it this way authentically Texan/Mexican? Probably not, though in this instance, I’m not too worried about that (adopts inappropriate Gallic-shrug). Seeing as the history of this dish is no more than 40 years old, I’m not sure it matters.
Also, I’ve taken to not using much salt these days, not that I’m worried about high blood pressure (it’s only watching Brighton & Hove Albion that induces that), it’s more I’m just finding… I don’t need it. But that’s a personal taste preference thing.
Meanwhile, chop an onion and a red pepper and set aside for a mo. In a hot pan, fry in olive oil / butter, the chicken pieces until sealed – about five minutes. Take the chicken out of the pan, place on a plate nearby, and in the same pan, fry the onions and red peppers with a smidge more paprika/chilli powder. Add salt and pepper if you wish. After five minutes, toss the chicken back in the pan and add in a can of tomatoes, and some chopped coriander leaves, though we didn’t have any coriander leaves, which doesn’t really detract from the final result. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Chicken, red peppers, chillies – marvellous
Just when you’re about ready to serve, take your fajita wraps, grill them on both sides for 45 seconds. Serve with salsa (chopped tomatoes, chilli, red onion, lime juice and coriander leaves), sour cream and guacamole (posh mushy peas, but with avocados), and that’s job done, really. A cold beer won’t go amiss either.
It served me and Daisy quite handsomely for a blow-out – with some Sunday leftovers.
I’m rarely too exact with the quantities; what I suggest above is a rough guide. Being too exact, and following recipes to the letter takes way most of the fun. I’d rather go for the… ‘today, I’m going to add TEN hot chillies, ‘cos I feel like screaming for a couple of hours…” sort of caper. Ultimately, it’s all a matter of preference – all I’m doing is offering a rough guide.
Let me know your method of doing this great party dish…
Cheers, Al
Large Al's cookbook 
Nice one, OK then, here is my method.
Cut your chicken into strips and marinade in 2 spoons of oil, (I tend to use rape seed), 2 spoons of lime juice and some hot chilli flakes, leave for a couple of hours.
Meanwhile, fry some finely chopped onion, with some diced chorizo. When the onion is browned, add some ground cumin and coriander, you can add some chopped chilli at this stage if you like it hot. After a further minute, chuck in some canned, chopped tomatoes.
Cook for 10 minutes or so and the tomato sauce is done. You can stir in some chopped coriander leaves if you like.
Next, get one of those griddle things really hot on the stove, maybe a tiny bit of oil (not olive) and wait till its smoking hot. Get the extractor on, open a window and take the battery out of your smoke detector (don’t forget to put it back in when you’re done)
Using (metal) tongs put the chicken strips onto the griddle, lengthways so that the griddle leaves lovely blackened stripes on the chicken. Leave the chicken on the griddle without touching it for 5 minutes or so, and then turn them over. You might need to do this in batches if you have loads of people coming round.
Now then, for dinner party convenience, you can do the chicken and tomato sauce up front, before anyone arrives, and before you put your best frock on. Then when you’re ready to eat, just reheat the tomatoes, and add the chicken, and cook for 5 minutes or so, then serve in the same way Al describes.
I also make my own tortilla wraps, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, but this is Als blog!
Frankly, I’m liking your attitude to cooking. I’m forever dicking about with alternative ingredients. I tell myself this is the sign of a great cook. 😉 And I’d never even heard of Indian Palm sugar before.
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