Chicken Fajitas Recipe

The traditional accompaniment to Fajitas in most Chicken Fajitas Recipes is Guacamole. You can either have it as a side dip, or actually spread it on your tortilla before assembling and rolling your fajita.

The original guacamole was simply ripe avocado flesh scooped out and mashed in a pestle and mortar with salt. The word derives from the  Aztec meaning ‘avocado sauce’.

Today there are multiple variations on this theme and it’s really a question of what you want to put in it. Here are some tips though:

It’s a good idea to squeeze the juice of a lime (or a lemon will do) over your mashed avocado because the flesh can tend to discolour in the open air. It also adds a zingy zestiness to the guacamole which cuts through the oily quality of the avocado. Just an aside here – avocado is extremely good for you, and the fats in it are the beneficial ones.

My wife sometimes adds crushed garlic as well, it depends how pressed you are for time, and if you like garlic!  If you’re a bit short on avocados then you can mix the mashed flesh with sour cream or greek yoghurt. It gives it an even smoother texture, and with either yoghurt or soured cream just adds that little edge to cut through the slightly bland nature of the avocado.

You’ll find many guacamole recipes with tomatoes in as well – again this is personal choice. I like spicy food, so the odd hot chilli in with it also adds to the flavour. And if you’re a fan of cilantro, or coriander as it’s known in the UK, this too adds a clean and fresh undernote to the dip.

For real spice and heat lovers there is a Venezuelan avocado salsa called guasacaca, made with vinegar and red chillis – no problem in serving this alongside guacamole, but make sure everyone knows about it!

Just a quick note on the main ingredient – avocado. There are several varieties, so if you have the choice it’s worth knowing which is which:

Hass is the most common, and the one which most people know as an avocado. With the bumpy skin it’s easily identified. Named after the guy who first grew it in California.

Fuerte is usually a bit bigger with a smoother skin. It means ‘strong’ in Spanish – not referring to its flavour which is very delicate, smooth and creamy (my favourite for making guacamole), but rather to its hardiness as a plant.

The other two less common ones are Bacon and Reed (recognised by its almost perfectlyy spherical appearance), also named after the men who first grew them commercially. There are other varieties, but the most common are these four.

Interestingly the name originates from the Aztec word for a testicle! No prizes for guessing why!

So that’s guacamole, without which no chicken fajitas recipe is complete. It sounds exotic, it looks good on the plate, it tastes delicious, and as you can see – it’s really easy to make.