Steak Fajita Salad
Last week unsure what to make for dinner, I turned to my freezer full of ButcherBox meats and leftover enchilada sauce (from the beef enchiladas we had made last week) and knew we could put a new spin on my traditional steak salad. **While this dish is not a traditional form of fajitas, it pulls from the classic flavorings and some of the typical ingredients. While researching the history of fajitas, I learned that it is truly a TexMex food: an adaptation of Mexican dishes made by Texas cooks. According to foodtimeline.org, the first print date of “fajitas” was in 1971. The word derives from the Spanish word “faja”, translating to “girdle” or “strip” and referring to the original cut of meat (skirt steak) that was used in this dish.
The end result of these salads were a perfect cure for your sad desk lunch. No more boring salads for you, it is time you get a serious upgrade. I obviously doubled the recipe, below, and packed one for Joe to make all of his coworkers jealous and one for me to eat at the apartment the next day (the only colleague I’m making jealous over here with this is Charlie… and trust me, he was).
To make this recipe, I used my Ninja Foodi Grill (as you all know by now, I’m obsessed), but if you don’t have an indoor or outdoor grill, no worries! You can easily make the steak by using the same cast iron skillet you will use for the vegetables. To make, first take the steak out of the fridge and allow it to come down to room temperature. Pat the steak dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Bring the cast iron skillet over high heat, add ghee, and, once melted, add the steak and allow it to sear on one side. Leaving the steak on the skillet for ~7 minutes, flip it and allow it to cook on the other side for an additional ~7 minutes. As someone who likes their steak medium rare, this is usually enough for me. If not, continue to flip the steak and cook until it reaches your preferred temperature. Whenever the steak is finished cooking, make sure you remove it from the skillet and place on a cutting board and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. If you are someone who is completely frightened and paralyzed by the idea of cooking steak on any appliance other than a grill, let me help you! I did a full tutorial to assist you all over on this recipe.
While the steak is resting, cut the mushrooms and bell pepper into ½ inch pieces and sauté on the skillet with melted ghee, salt, and pepper for ~10 minutes. While the vegetables are cooking, cut the avocado into small chunks and chop the romaine lettuce. Toss the lettuce in a bowl with olive oil and top with the refried beans, avocado, sautéed vegetables, and sliced steak. Lastly, top this mixture with some enchilada sauce. BAM! You’ve got yourself a delicious and flavorful steak fajita salad to enjoy any day of the week.
Steak Fajita Salad
ingredients:
- Ribeye steak (1)
- Bell pepper (1)
- Mushroom (1 cup)
- Romaine lettuce (2 heads)
- Avocado (1)
- Refried beans (1 cup)
- Enchilada sauce (1/2 cup)
- Olive oil (1/4 cup)
- Ghee (2 tablespoons)
- Salt
- Pepper
instructions:
How to cook Steak Fajita Salad
- Make sure the steak is room temperature and pat it dry before seasoning with salt and pepper on both sides
- Cut the mushrooms and bell peppers into ½ inch pieces
- If you have a grill, cook the steak there. If not, on a hot cast iron skillet, add 1 tablespoon of ghee and allow it to melt
- Add the steak to the skillet and allow to sear on one side for ~7 minutes before flipping
- Allow the steak to sear on the other side for ~7 minutes and then continue to flip and cook on each side to get your desired cooking preference (for me and medium rare, the initial 7 & 7 on each side does the trick)
- Remove the steak from the skillet and place on a cutting board to rest for at least 10 minutes
- In the same skillet over medium heat, add one tablespoon of ghee and, once melted, add in the chopped bell pepper and mushrooms
- Season this mixture with salt and pepper and sauté for ~10 minutes, or until the exterior of the vegetables is browned and the inside is soft
- While the vegetables are cooking, chop the romaine into small pieces
- Slice an avocado into small chunks and set aside
- Place the romaine at the base of the bowl and toss with olive oil
- Top the greens with refried beans, avocado, sautéed mushrooms and bell peppers, and sliced steak
- Drizzle with enchilada sauce and enjoy!
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Soy free
- Nut free
** after a lot of self-reflection and doing the work of Layla F Saad’s Me and White Supremacy (a book I highly recommend everyone reads) and Rachel Rickett’s Social Activism 101 & 102 courses, I realized the cultural appropriation that was occurring on my website when it came to recipes. I was modifying recipes deeply embedded in oppressed cultures without paying any respect to the history or original ingredients used. After realizing this, I went through and made changes to many of my recipes. This section is part of what was edited and included.