Several
years ago, my uncle retired from ranching and took up catering for rodeos in
Texas (I know – not the best narrative for a vegan recipe!) His recipe won
awards and was even featured in the San Antonio Express News. During my
meat-eating days, I prepared this recipe for folks in New York, Toronto,
Seattle, and Chicago and every time, it garnered praises. Here's the original recipe if you want to refer to it. The secret is that
the fajitas are grilled first, and THEN placed in a hot, spicy marinade from
which they’re served; sort of “backward”. The result is that the fajitas emerge
super-juicy and bursting with big bold flavors. Perfect for the veggies we love.
I’ve done
some tinkering and I’m happy to give you these award-winning fajitas –
veganized!
This will
feed 8-10 hungry folks
First,
prepare the hot marinade:
MARINADE
(Secret Sauce)
1 cup water
½ cup
organic sugar
½ cup cider
vinegar
1 Tbs.
Annie’s Worcester sauce
2 tsp
Tabasco
2 tsp minced
garlic
1 tsp liquid
smoke (the original recipe called for bacon fat)
1 tsp dry
mustard
1 tsp chili
powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
Combine and
simmer for 15 min. or while you grill the veggies. (Hint: You can easily make
this the day before and refrigerate it. But don’t try freezing it for later
use. It loses all its flavor. I’ve learned this the hard way.)
GRILLED
VEGGIES (Use what veggies you like. Here’s what I use)
2 zucchini,
sliced lengthwise
2 yellow
squash, sliced lengthwise
2 red
pepper, quartered
3 red
onions, cut into six wedges, root left in
4 portabella
mushrooms, sliced into thirds
6 jalapenos,
left whole.
Slightly oil
the veggies and grill on a really hot outdoor grill until well-charred. Slice
into fajita-sized strips. (Remove the seeds and pith from the jalapenos) Pour
hot marinade over veggies and set aside.
FILLING
(couldn’t be easier)
1 12-oz
vegan chorizo, removed from casing (I like Trader Joe’s)
1 14-oz can
of refried beans (Again, TJ’s)
Combine and
warm through.
GUACAMOLE
2 large ripe
avocados
1 cup frozen
corn, thawed (use raw corn if you have it – yum!)
1 tsp ground
cumin
½ tsp salt
Smoosh
everything together, except the corn, with a fork. Then fold in the corn.
ASSEMBLAGE:
Spread a
spoonful of chorizo-bean filling on a large flour tortilla, top with grilled
veggies, add guacamole and fresh cilantro.
Enjoy!!
