Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Grilled Beef Fajitas w/ Chipotle Lime Marinade

This evening I made Grilled Beef Fajitas for dinner. While shopping at Costco this weekend, I picked up a package of "inside skirt steaks". While I know what skirt steak is...I wasn't sure about the "inside" part, so I looked it up this evening and this is what I found: "Steak from the bottom sirloin or flank which looks like outside skirt steak but is more tender." I have 2 words for how this meal turned out..."absolutely delicious"! The marinade was super simple to make and I just put it together as I went along by mixing together spices that I thought would taste good and complement the beef. I prepared the marinade for the steak last night after dinner so it could marinate all night last night and all day long today -- about 24 hours. It was a particularly flavorful cut of beef -- the trick is cutting it in thin slices against the grain. I also quickly sauteed some sliced red and yellow bell pepper and thinly sliced onion to put on our fajitas. I have made grain free "tortillas" from others' recipes before -- but I just can't seem to get past the flavor or hint of coconut in my savory dishes for some reason -- as much as I wish I could. So, while I was totally prepared to enjoy my fajita "tortilla-less", I decided to fiddle around with making a tortilla for me to hold my fajitas (hubby had a regular one with his fajita). It was so easy peasy it wasn't funny and it held together perfectly throughout my entire overstuffed fajita-eating extravaganza! I made 2 different tortillas -- one thinner crepe-like version and another sturdier version (they each took about 2 minutes to make). I decided to use the sturdier version to hold the pile of meat and veggies I was planning to put onto and into my tortilla. I am posting my recipe for 1 individual tortilla below (as well as the amounts to use to make 4 of them). One last thing...while I almost always use organic cage free eggs...when I "fiddle with my recipe creations"...I don't like to waste my good eggs -- instead, I use Egg Beaters. This recipe was made using them (I wanted egg whites, not yolks for my tortillas). Just in case they turned out cruddy...I didn't want to throw out "good eggs"...LOL. They turned out great using them and I wouldn't hesitate using them if you have them on hand. The best part for me was NO coconut flavor and they didn't taste eggy either which I didn't want with my fajitas. They would also make great sandwich wraps/holders for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I snapped a few photos for you to see below as well as the recipe. Enjoy!

Before the "fold-over"...


After the fold-over Do you think I could have filled it up any more???)
This is how it all began..."inside skirt steak" in its naked raw glory...
This is what it evolved into with a little help from a great marinade, hubby, and the grill, of course! 
BOOM! -- "aerial shot of the fold-over"


Grilled Beef Fajitas w/ Chipotle Lime Marinade w/ Grain-free Tortillas

Ingredients:

For the fajitas:
2 pounds skirt steak
2 large cloves garlic, coarsely minced
3/4 teaspoon roasted ground cumin
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile
1/2 - 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 2 - 3 limes
Zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup olive oil
Toppings of choice: grilled or sauteed bell peppers or onions, salsa, avocado, sour cream, etc.
Grain-free tortillas, optional (recipe below)

For the tortillas (makes 1 8-inch tortilla):
1/4 cup egg whites or Egg Beaters
2 tablespoons blanched almond flour
2 teaspoons ground golden flax
1 teaspoon finely grated Parmesan
Dash of sea salt
Generous dash of ground chipotle chile (or seasoning of choice such as smoked paprika, etc.)

Directions:

For the fajitas:
Place steak and garlic in a large (gallon size) Ziploc type bag. In a small bowl, whisk remaining ingredients together (cumin, chipotle, salt, pepper, lime juice, zest and olive oil) and pour into bag with steak. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible; massage the bag to distribute all the marinade throughout the meat. Refrigerate overnight. Grill on a medium-hot grill for approximately 4 minutes on each side; remove and let rest for about 5 to 10 minutes. Slice the beef thinly against the grain. If desired, serve on a grain free tortilla. Top with your favorite grilled or cooked veggies and other toppings of choice. 

To make the tortillas:
Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl to form a smooth, thin batter. Lightly spray a 10-inch non-stick skillet with olive oil spray and heat over medium-high heat. Pour batter into hot skillet, tilting the pan and using a circular motion to evenly distribute the batter in the bottom. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until very lightly browned and cooked around edges. Carefully loosen and flip using a rubber spatula; cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Serve and fill with your favorite fajita, taco or sandwich fixings.

*Note: To make 4 tortillas, use the following amounts: 1 cup egg whites/egg substitute, 1/2 cup blanched almond flour, 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoon of ground golden flax, 4 teaspoons finely grated Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon seasoning (or to taste). Pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter in hot skillet to make each tortilla.


   

8 comments:

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

This looks scrumptious. Ingenious tortillas, too. I'm with you ... I don't care for coconutty, eggy wraps and rolls for savory dishes, either. This is a great solution. I've been using an almond flour pancake/crepe for your enchilada casserole. Works great for that, but I doubt it would hold up as a fajita wrap. Will have to try this one. I really like wraps that you pour into a pan, rather than rolling out ... I made an awful mess of those the first few times I tried *that* kind of tortilla! I ended up just giving up on them and went looking for a crepe recipe! :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis! Thanks...the good thing about this is you can make just one of them and if you don't like it, no big deal. I think the chipotle powder helps give them flavor that complements the fajitas I put in them. Depending on what you were using them for you could add chili powder, etc. -- it was enough where I didn't taste egg at all while having my fajita -- and trust me, it was OVER-stuffed and they held up well. :-)

Kathy said...

Hi GGC,

Since going wheat-free one of the things I've really missed is tortillas! Your tortilla recipe sounds so good as well as easy to make. Questions: If I made some tortillas in advance, do you know if they would freeze/thaw well? If yes, what "thawing" instructions do you suggest?

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Kathy -- To be honest, I have not tried freezing them yet but would like to. If they thaw nicely, it would be great to have them on hand to pull out and use. I will do a test tortilla here soon and freeze it to see how it does during the thaw process. If you decide to try it before I do, I would only try it with one or two first "just in case". Hope you enjoy them! :-)

Unknown said...

Your recipes sound AMAZING. I want to make your tortilla recipe, but I am not allowed to have flax seed b/c of high estrogen content. What can I replace it with? Thanks so much!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Ann,

Thanks so much. I haven't tried subbing anything in these before but you could try replacing it with either ground chia seed or coconut flour. If you try that,let me know how it works! :-)

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

I happened to run across this web page that tells how to substitute chia seed for flax meal in baked goods (and other types of recipes, as well.)

http://www.harriswholehealth.com/links-and-files/baking-with-chia

Basically you use less chia than the quantity of flax called for in the recipe ... about 1/2 to 2/3 the amount. I haven't tried this yet, but I'm quite interested to see how well it works.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis,

Thanks for the link! I will definitely give that a try some time. I've had several people tell me they don't eat flax...so it would be great if it substitutes well.

I have a bag of ground chia in the fridge. I've used it before but can't recall what for? I think it was to thicken the blueberries in a blueberry crisp I did for the Wheat Free Market (in place of cornstarch or tapioca)...and it worked nicely. :-)