Steak Fajitas

Steak. Who doesn’t love steak? Well, vegetarians and vegans, I guess, but I can’t be bothered with those who deny their human nature. For this steak adventure, I decided to make fajitas, with peppers, onions, spicy sour cream, and Spanish rice made from scratch. The meat comes out with a citrusy flavor which, to be honest, is a flavor I don’t necessarily prefer when it comes to meat. Everyone else seemed to love it though, so that’s good enough for me to recommend this recipe.

Steak recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

Rice recipe adapted from About.com

Difficulty: Medium
Active Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Prep Time: About 2 hours
Special Equipment: Food Processor (Optional)
Serves: 3 – 4

Primary Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound of flank steak, skirt steak or carne asada
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced with the grain, not against the grain as one would normally slice an onion.
• 2-3 bell peppers of various colors, stemmed, seeded, de-ribbed, sliced lengthwise into strips
• Salt

Marinade Ingredients:

• About ½ cup of lime juice
• 4 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 fresh or canned Jalapeño pepper, seeded, ribs removed, finely chopped

Rice Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/4 of a medium onion
• 1 1/2 cups rice
• 3 cloves finely chopped garlic 
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup tomato sauce (lacking plain tomato sauce, I used spicy marinara…it worked out alright)
• 4 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley (optional)

Spicy Sour Cream Ingredients:

• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1 teaspoon minced or crushed garlic
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

(Begin with marinade)

1. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin,and jalapeño. Place the meat into a plastic bag and pour the marinade in to coat the meat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

(Prepare spicy sour cream)

2. In a medium bowl, mix sour cream, lime juice, garlic, and spices until well combined. Refrigerate until needed.

(Move onto the rice)

3. In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add in the fresh onion and sauté for 1-2 minutes until softened.

4. Add dry rice and cook with the onions for about 5 minutes or until rice starts to turn a golden brown color. Add in the garlic to the rice and sauté for one more minute.

5. Add in broth and tomato sauce. Add in the parsley if you're using it. Stir it up and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for 20 minutes and fluff with a fork.

(While the rice cooks, prep for meat, slice peppers and onions, etc)

6. Set a large cast iron pan or griddle over high heat and let it heat up for 1-2 minutes. Add the tablespoon of oil to the pan and let this heat up for 1 minute.

7. Add the steak, frying on each side for 3 minutes, or to desired doneness. 3 minutes per side will yield approximately medium rare doneness for an average cut of flank steak. Smaller, thinner pieces of meat will take significantly less time, so keep a close eye on it. Remove from pan and let sit, tented with foil, for 5 minutes.

8. Begin cooking the vegetables in the same pan the meat was in. Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary, then add the onions and bell peppers. Let these sear for 1 minute before stirring, then stir every 90 seconds or so.  Cook for 5-6 minutes total.

9. If you used one large piece of meat, make thin slices against the grain. (I used fajita meat that had already been cut, so I obviously I skipped this step.)

10. Assemble fajitas on warm tortillas. Lay a bed of Spanish rice, then meat and vegetables. Top with spicy sour cream and serve.