Cheesy Tex-Mex deliciousness today! Crispy chipotle-chilli-coated halloumi fingers, served as fajitas, with sautéed capsicums and onions and warm flour tortillas, plus as many accompaniments as you fancy! It's fun and easy and tasty, all made with simple supermarket ingredients, and definitely doable on a weeknight!
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| Chipotle haloumi fajitas, double avocado, chipotle sauce, tortillas, cherry tomatoes, fresh coriander |
I often scroll through Pinterest when I'm bored - saving ideas for weeknight meals, brunch parties, cakes to bake and more. I'm still not entirely sure how it works, but I do know that my feed is full of sprightly American food blogs (vegan! 3-ingredients! amazing!), OTT grazing boards, and for some reason, wedding ideas, even though I stopped pinning anything to my wedding board months ago. I don't often go from Pinterest directly to the kitchen, but when I saw halloumi fajitas pop up in my feed, I thought they were a brilliant idea. I knew I needed them in my life, and quick!
Now, whilst I saw this idea on Pinterest, I made the fajitas my own way. I sliced a block of halloumi into long strips, then marinated it in some garlic-infused olive oil, lime juice, cumin, and chipotle sauce. I'd impulse-bought a bottle of chipotle sauce at the supermarket a little while back, and was very pleased to find a great way to use it! (FYI it was La Costeña brand, not sponsored, which had a bit of warmth but wasn't crazily hot - in terms of heat levels, I'd say it's similar to a medium Doritos salsa). If you can't find chipotle sauce, I'd suggest using a little smoked paprika and some chilli powder instead, to replicate that addictive hot-smoky flavour.
Whilst the halloumi strips were marinating, I sliced and sautéed some capsicums and onions until soft and sweet, and whilst they were cooking down, I prepared the sides. I chose some more of that chipotle sauce, lime wedges, some plain chopped cherry tomatoes, sliced avocados, and a simple guacamole (avocado mashed with salt, lime juice, pepper & some chopped spring onions). Fresh coriander on the side because Sandra HATES coriander. If it were up to me there'd be coriander throughout everything!
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| Double-Avocado |
You could go as simple or as complex as you like with the sides - some form of avocado is non-negotiable for me, and I do love the idea of something fresh and crunchy against the soft capsicums and salty halloumi. Some other ideas: crunchy iceberg lettuce, chopped spring onions, jalapeños, corn, beans... I'd personally avoid sour cream or grated cheese, as we already have the aggressively milky halloumi as the star of the show, but you do you.
Just remember that whilst the basic fajitas (halloumi, capsicum strips, tortillas), don't take very long, preparing all the sides can be quite fiddly and take lots of time! I'd suggest picking a couple of simple ones that you and your family really like, rather than going for that whole maximalist vibe with heaps of tiny little dishes. It's just dinner at home, you're not running a Mexican takeaway.
Ok, where were we? Right, so once the capsicum strips were cooked and the sides were prepared, I fried the halloumi strips, and heated the tortillas in a separate dry frying pan. I prefer flour tortillas for fajitas and burritos, as I love their soft pliable doughiness. But if you're coeliac, or just really like corn, corn tortillas I'm sure would be fine as well.
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| Chipotle Halloumi Fajitas |
And we're done! Put everything out and let people assemble their own. I was so impressed with this meal - it was incredible! I loved the salty-squeaky halloumi with the smoky hit of chipotle, plus all the delicious sides wrapped up in flour tortillas. Smoky, salty, spicy, sweet, fresh and crunchy. A tasty vegetarian family meal that can be made quickly and with easily accessible ingredients. I'm definitely adding this to the regular rotation, and I hope you do too!
Chipotle Halloumi FajitasA recipe by Sarah CooksIngredients180 grams halloumi1 teaspoon garlic-infused olive oil, plus more for frying1 tablespoon chipotle sauce (or substitute 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder & 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika)1/2 teaspoon ground cumin1/2 teaspoon dried oreganoJuice of 1/4 lime1/2 red onion2 red capsicums4 large flour tortillasTo serve: chopped tomatoes, sliced avocado, guacamole, chopped coriander, more chipotle sauceMethodSlice the halloumi into slices approx. 1/2 cm thick.Place into a bowl and add the 1 teaspoon garlic-infused olive oil, chipotle sauce, cumin, oregano and lime juice. Stir to coat the halloumi in the mixture and set aside.Peel the red onion and slice into fine half moons.Core the capsicum, cut in half lengthwise, and then cut into fine slices.Heat some garlic-infused olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the capsicum slices and cook for 10 minutes or so, stirring regularly, or until softened. Remove the onion and capsicum from the pan and set aside in a bowl.Heat a little more oil in the frying pan. Cook the halloumi slices for a couple of minutes each side until golden brown.Meanwhile, heat the tortillas according to packet direction.Arrange the onion-capsicum mixture and the halloumi slices on a serving plate (or back in the frying pan for bonus Instagrammability). Serve with the tortillas and the accompaniments of your choice.Serves 2
Have you made this recipe? Leave a comment below! Tag me on Instagram @sarahcooksblog and hashtag #sarahcooksblog
Also check out my other fajita recipes: Beef Fajita Bowls; Chicken Fajita Bowls.
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