Fajitas and Mexican Pasta Salad

It's summertime, hot and humid. Guests were coming over for a bbq, there would be a camp fire, marshmallows, and some fun and games with the kids. Who's not tired of hot dogs and hamburgers. Chicken is getting old, pork chops are for week nights, and ribs are a bit of a production and not for a large group.  Our family idea person a.k.a. SO, thought we should do a Mexican theme with fajitas and a cold salad. Perfect!

Mexican Pasta Salad with Pico de Gallo

I had also made a batch of fresh Pico de Gallo. It sounds strange, but it was a good addition to the salad. The salad was quite tasty, but just a tad dry. It wasn't really dry, but it was missing some texture. In any case, a dollop of the fresh condiment on top was a surprisingly good match. I didn't think of it at the time, but it might benefit from a bit of crunch as well, maybe crumbled tortilla chips.

The fajitas turned out particularly good. Unfortunately I didn't think to snap a picture of the fajitas, but everyone knows what they look like. The most interesting part of this whole endeavour was trying to find skirt steak. The history is quite interesting. The name is a Spanish nickname dating back to the 1930's in West Texas where the throwaway meat trimmings (including skirt steak) was given as payment to the Mexican vaqueros. In any case, skirt steak isn't all that common anymore - and there's quite a back story to the whole thing.  I went to two grocery stores and neither carry it at all. So I used flank instead. In the end, I think the two most important key points are the marinade, and slicing across the grain. Well a good sear helps as well.

Next Time:  will try to find skirt steak, and will try to crumble some tortilla chips on the salad

Me: 9/10
SO: 9/10
SSO: 6/10

Mexican Pasta Salad
Ingredients

• 1/2 a large package (around 500g) of uncooked pasta such as fusilli, penne, farfalle, or even macaroni
• lime juice and grated peel from 2 limes
• 1 cup ranch dressing
• taco seasoning - either a package, or make your own: 
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 19oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• Pico de Gallo either for topping or to mix in. 
• 1 or 2 grilled corn-on-the-cobs, with the corn cut off and cooled. 

Method

1. Cook the pasta and cool it under cold water.
2. Mix the lime juice and peel, dressing, and seasoning in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, tomatoes, cheddar, cilantro, beans, and corn. 
4. Add the seasoning mix, toss to coat. 
5. Add the Pico de Gallo as desired

Fajitas

Ingredients

• 1 whole Skirt steak (if you can find it), or substitute 2 hanger or flank steaks (2-3 lbs). I also did a couple chicken breasts for young guests using the same marinade.
• Marinade:
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cumin seed
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tsp chili powder
• Veggies: 
• 2 or 3 bell peppers of different colours
• large white onion
• SO can't eat peppers, so I grilled an extra couple cobs of corn and cut the kernels off. 
• shredded cheddar
• sour cream
• fresh Pico de Gallo or regular salsa
• enough flour tortillas for your guests (wrap them in small batches in damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds or more)

Method

1. Mix up the marinade, and set 1/4 cup aside to cook the veggies in. 
2. Trim any excess fat off the beef, but leave some for flavour. Take off any silver skin if you can. Put in a ziplock and add the marinade. Put in the fridge for 4 to 8 hours.
3. For the meat, sear on very high heat on both sides, and cook until desired doneness. Make sure to let the meat rest after cooking for 10 minutes, then cut in thin slices across the grain.
4. For the veggies, stir fry in a cast iron pan on high heat with the marinade and a bit of extra butter and/or oil if needed.
5. Serve with the rest of the condiments and tortillas.