Fajita Street Tacos

I had the most fabulous long 4th of July weekend filled with friends and family at pools and lakes getting my fill of vitamin D... and food. It was so much fun but I needed to start the week with something a bit more healthy.

I have a slight obsession with PBS and found this recipe while watching America's Test Kitchen on Saturday. This recipe is fairly healthy (although does have oil, a bit of sugar, and a bit of cream). It is also gluten free (as long as you use corn tortillas). 

I adapted it slightly and in the future would probably omit the cream. I'm not a fan if sour cream but thought I would enjoy the tang of crema Mexicana. I was wrong, but if you like sour cream, by all means, leave it in. 

This recipe does have a few steps and doing multiple things at once, so it's not the simplest recipe out there.

I advise you to use a skillet that can be transferred to the oven. 

Also - as a single gal, this menu is for one with leftovers for lunch. So increase it to your family size. 

I eyeballed all ingredients so these measurements are not exact. 

Ingredients

Vegetable oil (or an oil with a high smoking temp)

1/2 onion (sliced thin)

1 poblano pepper

4-5 cloves of garlic (chopped)

1 tsp. oregano (dried)

1 tsp. thyme

1 lime or lime juice

1/8 cup (ish) crema Mexicana or regular heavy cream

1 chicken breast (pounded thin)

1 tbs cumin

1 tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. sugar

Corn tortillas

Avocado

Queso fresco 

Preparation 

The key to this recipe is hot oil that immediately caramelizes the onions and chicken, so remember, a bit of blackness on the veggies and chicks equals flavor and is perfectly okay. 

Whisk together 3-4 chopped garlic cloves with 1tbs. of vegetable oil, 1 tbs. lime juice, cumin, cayenne and sugar. Toss the chicken in the marinade to coat. Cover and put aside. 

Heat broiler. Cut poblano into fourths and press slightly to flatten. Put on foil and roast under broiler on the highest rack to blister the skin. Let it char. Once it has, toss peppers in a ziplock to let the skin separate to peel. 

While poblanos are doing their thing, heat 1tbs. of vegetable on medium-high heat. Once the oil gets hot, through in (gently) the onions. This helps them caramelize and cook quickly. They should cook in about 5 minutes.  (Remove from heat if they finish before you can complete the next step). After you remove poblanos, change temperature of oven to bake and set at 275. 

Once the poblanos have cooked and rested in a ziplock, peel the charred skin and cut into strips. Add them to the onions. (And put back on heat if need be). Add thyme, oregano, 1 clove of chopped garlic, juice from 1/2 lime and cream. Mix quickly, remove from heat. I just put them in a bowl covered with foil to keep warm.

Clean out pan with paper towels and add a tiny but more oil. Once oil is heated (medium high), remove chicken from marinade and add to skillet. Do not touch for four minutes. Flip and cook for two more minutes. Transfer the skillet and chicken to the oven and let cook for 4-8 more minutes. It took mine a bit to reach temperature of 160 degrees. You could also cook it through on the skillet, but I think the cooking at high and then transferring made it crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. 

While chicken is in oven, heat your tortillas in a skillet with a tiny bit of butter. 

Remove chicken. Let rest. Cut on a bias and serve with chopped avocado, crumbles of queso fresco and onion mixture. ¡Delicioso!

Like I said, It's not the easiest recipe to follow, but it was quick and very tasty.