Fajitas for Friends

I feel compelled to apologise for my lack of internet presence in the last couple of weeks although I am sure there aren’t many of you waiting on the edge of your seats for another post. This first few weeks at uni has been manic. Trying to force myself to read more than one page of a book at a time has been challenging to say the least! I am also finding it a little more hectic as I am living in a new flat, no longer in the student hub of Manchester and so seeing my friends has proved harder this year. This is why I decided to set up a supper club to meet every few weeks, I cook the dinner and they pay me £3 each for the privilege of my company and cuisine.

I wanted to start with something easy so I chose fajitas, a Mexican classic. This is such a good meal for getting to know people, something about sharing out food and passing it around the table is just perfect for breaking the ice. I thought this meal could translate well for those of you who are new students or have moved into houses with new people and are having to cook for the first time. This is such an easy dish to make and its great way to get your housemates on side. For anyone having trouble meeting people or making new friends don’t stress, it will work itself out and, in the meantime, food remains the best way to people’s hearts so cook them a meal!

Chicken Fajitas (serves 6)

• One large onion
• 5 chicken thighs
• One and a half peppers.
• One chilli
• One Dessert spoon of cumin
• Half a dessert spoon of coriander
• Half a dessert spoon of paprika
• Half a tin of tomatoes
• A bunch of fresh coriander
• 2 limes
• Two avocados
• A handful of cherry tomatoes
• Quarter of a red onion
• A tub of sour cream
• Half a block of cheese
• One lettuce
• 2 packets of tortilla wraps
• A bowl of cooked rice (optional)

How to make it…

• Although the list of ingredients looks a bit intimidating there are only really two aspects of this dish that require any preparation. Start with the chicken. Slice the onion and fry in oil. Slice the chicken thighs as thin as possible and add to the pan. Now add the chopped chilli, the spices and a handful of diced coriander stalks. Fry for a minute but make sure the spices don’t burn. Add the tomatoes. Slice up the peppers and add to the pan along with half a cup of water, leave to simmer with the lid on.
• Now tackle the guacamole. Mash the avocados in a bowl, squeeze in the juice of one lime. Chop the tomatoes and add to the avocados. Dice the red onion as finely as possible and add to the bowl along with a handful of chopped coriander leaves. Season with salt and pepper and you’re done.
• Return to the chicken, a lot of the liquid should have evaporated by now. Stir through loads of coriander leaves and squeeze over half a lime. Serve alongside the guacamole, sour cream, grated cheese, thinly chopped lettuce, the rice (if you’re using it) and tortilla wraps, warmed in the oven.

Cost rating ** I used: an onion costing 18p, chicken thighs costing £3.50, one and a half peppers costing 70p, 1/3 of a pack of chillies costing 60p, 1/2 a tin of tomatoes costing 40p, coriander costing 80p, 2 limes costing 30p, 2 avocados costing 90p, 1/4 of a box of tomatoes costing £1.75, 1/4 of a red onion costing 18p, sour cream costing 55p, 1/2 a block of cheese costing £2.17, one lettuce costing 70p, 2 packets of tortillas costing £1.20, 1/10 of a bag of rice costing 45p. Total cost: £14.50, £2.40 a head.

Washing up is off the charts but you can get your friends to give you a hand.