Kelvin’s Fiesta Fajitas

Photographer: Kate
serves 6- 8

Kelvin has the enviable position of being our chief engineer for outdoor cooking, and is so dedicated to the cause he enthusiastically joined Kate and Kurt for some outdoor grilling in the rain! Not only does Kelvin have the technical know-how on all  the bits under the hood of our amazing grills he has also built up quite a repertoire of recipes that have been perfected through trial and error at his holiday home in Bannockburn, Central Otago.  As we understand it Kelvin cooks everything on the grill during his summer break, no exceptions.  This stand has led him to many incredible culinary feats that break all the usual rules of a typical kiwi barbeque.   With a bit of luck we may even squeeze one more recipe out of him before the end of summer, “please Kelvin, we just can’t get past then mention of the baked Alaska!  What do you say?”

“For sure”

I love the outdoors. Summer in central Otago, is a great social time for us. We have a rustic barn, no frills, we often call it glorified camping. Experimenting with all sorts of food is great fun and seeing people’s reactions to some of the creations Helen (my wife) and I come up with is fantastic.  This fajita recipe is a great hit with the kids and adults alike.  The tzatziki helps to tame the heat from the jalapenos which keeps everyone happy. Having the food as the centre for the evening is easily justified by the days’ efforts of mountain biking the hills and swimming in the lake.

Good food,   the company of family and friends, and the ability to solve the world’s problems over a glass of the local Pinot as the sun sets, that’s the joy of summer holidays.  Have a great Christmas, and New Year break, eat well, and try something new and remember not having the clean-up, by using the grill (BBQ) all the time is just a bonus.

INGREDIENTS

Marinade:
½ cup juice from limes
¼ cup vegetable oil
3 medium cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Ground cumin (toasted)
2 tsp light brown sugar
1 jalapeno chilli chopped fine
1 tbsp minced coriander

Other Ingredients:
2 skirt steak (400gm each)
2 large red onions cut into large rings
3 large Peppers
6-8 large tortillas

Tzatziki
1 cucumber
½ kg Greek yoghurt
3 medium cloves of garlic, (1 Tablespoons minced garlic)
Salt.
Pepper (to taste)
2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp Red wine vinegar

METHOD

Marinade:
1. Whisk all ingredients except the coriander in a bowl and adjust to taste, depending on how hot you like your chilli.
2. Set aside ¼ cup of the marinade as a sauce and add the coriander to this.
3. Prick steak with a fork, both sides to allow the marinade to penetrate.
4. Place each steak in a zip lock bag with half of the remaining marinade (no coriander), and refrigerate for 30min to 2 hrs.

Tzatziki
1. Grate cucumber, and sprinkle with 2 tsp of salt (this will help extract the moisture)
2. Squeeze the grated cucumber to remove moisture and discard the liquid.
3. In a large bowl, combine cucumber, yoghurt, (These should be approximately equal volume), garlic, oil, red wine vinegar.
4. Cover and refrigerate till serving time.

Cooking & Serving:
1. Cut the onions and peppers into thick slices and season (these can be placed on a skewer for ease of cooking on an open grill).
2. Get the grill up to heat, & season the grates.
3. Remove steaks from the bag, and pat dry, (discard the marinade). Sear the steak and cook until medium rare.
4. If you have a warming rack on your grill, warm the wraps through, while the steaks cook.
5. Also cook the vegetables on the grill.
6. Once the steak is cooked let it rest then with a sharp carving knife, cut into thin slices. IMPORTANT – CUT ACROSS THE GRAIN of the steak otherwise the steak will appear tough.
6. Place the thin slices on a platter and pour the sauce that was set aside with the coriander as a dressing over the steak.
7. Pile the vegetables onto the platter beside the steak and serve with the tzatziki, warm tortillas and a squeeze of lime.