Friday night steak fajitas recipe

I’ve added coffee and cocoa to my steak marinade to punch up the Mexican mole flavour of these fajitas. I’ve kept them mild, but feel free to add more cayenne or chilli.

Prep time: 10 minutes, plus 30 minutes to marinade | Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serves

Four

Ingredients

• 2-3 sirloin steaks (about 500g in total)

• 3 tbsp light olive or sunflower oil

• 1½ tsp instant espresso powder, dissolved in 25ml water (or 25ml extra-strong espresso, cold)

• 2 tsp cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder

• 2 tsp ground ancho chilli powder or ancho chilli flakes

• 1 tsp chipotle chilli powder or sweet smoked paprika

• 1 tsp soft brown sugar

• ½ tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp dried oregano

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 large onion, thinly sliced

• 3 peppers (a mixture of colours), deseeded and sliced

• 8-10 baby plum or cherry tomatoes, halved

• 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves, plus extra to serve

• 8 medium soft corn or flour tortillas, warmed, to serve

For the zesty sour cream

• 150ml soured cream

• 1 lime, for squeezing, plus the zest of ½

Method

1. Trim the steaks and cut into long strips. Put one tablespoon of the oil, and the espresso, cacao, ancho and chipotle chilli powders, sugar, cumin, oregano, half the garlic and a squeeze of lime juice into a bowl. Season and mix together. Add the steak strips and toss to coat. Cover and leave to marinate for 30 minutes or longer if you have time.

2. Mix the soured cream and lime zest together in a bowl. Add a little squeeze of lime juice to taste and season. Chill until needed.

3. Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat and add the onion and peppers. Cook for four minutes, stirring, until soft and browned. Stir in the remaining garlic and cook for a few seconds. Remove to a plate and set aside.

4. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the same pan and, when hot, add the steak slices. Cook for two to three minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Return the onion and peppers to the pan and toss through the tomatoes to warm through for a minute (if preferred, you can keep the peppers and onions separate from the steak). Stir through the chopped coriander, squeeze over some lime juice, season with salt and pepper.

5. Arrange on a warm serving platter – or serve sizzling in the pan – sprinkled with coriander. Pile your tortillas with steak and the veg, and add a drizzle of zesty soured cream. Fold up and enjoy!

Recipe from Ainsley’s Good Mood Food, by Ainsley Harriott, published by Ebury Press (£20). Order your copy from the Telegraph Bookshop