Quantity is enough for a small get together: 12 fajitas for 4 to 6 people. This is a vegetarian recipe. It's designed so that for those who prefer (or insist!), strips of chicken or beef can be added to the meal by cooking in a separate pan while the veggies get hot and juicy.
Several hours ahead of your meal, start a marinade/dressing for the Tomato Avocado Salad
- 4 ripe tomatoes chopped
- 2 ripe avocados cubed
- 1/2 small red onion finely chopped
- 2 Tspoons cilantro (if liked)
- 1/2 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 Tspoons red wine vinegar
- juice of one or more limes, to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar or honey
- dash of salt or salt subsitute
In a medium bowl, combine ingredients except for avocadoes. Let stand in fridge for up to six hours. Just before serving the meal, mix the avocado chunks into this sauce.
Meanwhile, prepare Frijoles Negros.
- 2 tspoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 3 15 oz cans of black beans, rinsed drained and mashed
Most canned black beans are extremely high in salt. Consider shopping for a salt-free brand like Eden Organic (which is flavored wth kombus seaweed). Or salt lightly to taste.
Method:
Heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, saute 3 minutes. Add beans and 1 cup water or vegetable broth, or stock. Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so the beans don't burn. Add extra water or stock as needed.
Now make the Fajitas
- 2 juiced limes
- 3 T cilantro or other herbs, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tspoons chili powder
- 2 tspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tspoon olive oil
- 1 large onion in 12 wedges
- 1/2 red onion in rings
- 2 bell peppers: one red and one green in thin strips
- 2 portabella mushrooms, halved
- 12 cremini or button mushrooms, quartered
- 2 nice large ripe tomatoes in 8 wedges
- 12 lard free soft tortillas
Heat the oil in a large heavy pan over a moderate flame. Add onions. garlic, spices and all the vegetables by stages along with lime juice and Worcester sauce. Stir the veggies in the pan with a wooden spoon until the mixture is hot and juicy, not blackened. Heat the tortillas, without frying, in a moderate oven or over a low flame in another pan.
Ask your guests to wrap their own fajitas filled with the veggie mixture. Serve with the mashed beans (hot or warm) and cool avocado-tomato salad on the side.
Unless you add sour cream, this meal is cholesterol free and low in saturated fat. Beans contain B vitamins and magnesium along with fiber, moderate protein and slower-digesting carbs.
Adapted from AARP Magazine (May/June 2004).
For more, healthy recipes check out Potluck and Lenny Hirsch's recipes.
And you might like to try the Ratattouille recipe at AARP's online magazine or their Spicy Salsa Chicken Grill (a diabetic recipe).
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