The Supper Club

Die amerikanisch-mexikanischen Fajitas sind ein Vorläufer des Fusion Food und sprechen jeden Gaumen an. Von LORRAINE MALLINDER

Fajitas — the essence of Tex-mex

Food snob alert! No, this dish is not authentically Mexican. In fact, it’s an early example of what we might today call “fusion cuisine,” a feisty collaboration between gringo cowboys and Mexican vaqueros. The essence of Tex-mex.

It all started in the Lone Star State, sometime in the 1930s. “Fajitas” (meaning “little strips”) — from the Spanish word faja (“sash” or “belt”) — are thin, tasty cuts of steak from around the ribs of a cow.

In the past, the toughest cuts of meat were used as currency to pay Mexican laborers working on the land. They would marinate the meat in lime juice before sizzling the cuts over hot coals. This campfire dish was passed down over decades from generation to generation.

There are plenty of stories about the dish’s early rise to fast-food fame. From local fairgrounds and festivals, it eventually found its way onto every highway in Texas, where it was sold in places with names like Fajitaville and Pappasito’s.

Interestingly, however, it would be a German-born chef called George Weidmann who really turned fajitas into a global superstar, upgrading the dish with sizzling sirloin at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Austin, Texas, in 1982. Fajitas had now gone gourmet.

Today, the name fajitas is used to describe almost anything served in a flour tortilla. The most popular versions include butterflied shrimps, seared chicken, and steak-like mushrooms for the veggies. Most also have pepper, salsa, and sour cream or yogurt in the mix, and a sprinkling of grated cheese.

The secret of this dish lies in the freshness of the ingredients. It’s the perfect party food. Just lay out all the ingredients on the table with a pile of tortillas and let everyone choose their favorite fillings.

But beyond all the fun, the dish has had a turbulent past. Its home state was still a province of Mexico until 1836 and became the focal point of the Mexican-american War (1846–48). To this day, Texas remains symbolic of the tangled relationship between the two countries, one that will require more than a wall to resolve.

So, celebrate the true spirit of cross-cultural fusion with fabulous fajitas, washed down with a long, cool Tecate beer. Órale!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 red pepper, cut into thin strips

• 1 medium-sized red onion, finely chopped

• 2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into long strips • 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 small pinch of ground cumin

• 2 limes

• olive oil

• 4 flour tortillas

• 150 ml sour cream

• 50 g grated Cheddar

FOR THE SALSA

• ½–1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped

• 8 ripe tomatoes, chopped into small squares • 30 g fresh cilantro

• 1 lime

• extra virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix the chicken, pepper, onion, paprika, and cumin in a bowl. Add the juice of half a lime, a tablespoon of oil, season with black pepper and mix well. Put aside for five minutes. For the salsa, mix the tomatoes, chilli, and cilantro in a bowl with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Add the juice of one lime and drizzle with olive oil. Place a griddle on high heat. Use tongs to put the pepper, onion, and chicken onto the griddle. Cook until the chicken is golden and cooked through. Keep turning the pieces over so they don’t burn. Warm the tortillas (in the oven or microwave), then divide them among the plates. Add the remaining lime juice to the sizzling pan before serving the chargrilled pieces onto the tortillas. Add some of the salsa, a spoonful of sour cream, and grated Cheddar. Wrap and eat.