If you joined us on our 50th anniversary golden bus tour last year, you’ll have seen our brilliant chef, Sal, keeping everyone entertained and well fed during the live cooking demonstrations.
Well, Sal’s back – this time cooking from her sister’s home, where she’s been socially distancing since the start of lockdown – with a series of special ‘cook-in’ recipe videos, as filmed by her nieces on their mobile phones!
As we’re all trying to shop less and make money go further, Sal’s videos help us to make the most of whatever Free Food we’ve already got in our cupboards, fridges and freezers. We’ve had a classic spag bol, a vegetarian chilli, an easy chicken curry and an ‘anything goes’ frittata – and this week we’ve got a tasty Tex-mex classic.
On the menu this week is Slimming World leftover roast chicken fajitas. Sal tells us more…
“These leftover roast chicken fajitas are adapted from Slimming World’s 50 Golden Greats cookbook, which brought together 50 of Slimming World’s best-ever recipes to celebrate its golden anniversary. Like my spag bol, fajitas were a firm favourite during my university days, as they’re cheap and easy to make for large numbers of people.
What I love about this recipe is that it’s a brilliant way to maximise leftovers from your roast dinner. Whether you’ve got chicken, lamb, beef or a meat alternative, they all work really well and no one will ever know you’re using leftovers – they’ll think you’ve made it all from scratch!
Getting the most out of your spare meat and veg is always a great money-saver, and it’s even more important at the moment when shopping takes longer and some of us are busier than ever.
It’s also a great way to gather the whole family together and because everyone is making their own fajitas, it’s very interactive and encourages chat around the table.”
Sal’s leftover roast chicken fajita tips
- I like to serve the chicken cold, but if I’m using lamb or beef I usually cut the meat into strips and warm it through in the frying pan with the peppers and onion before serving.
- Fresh parsley, mint, chives or dill are great alternatives if you don’t have any fresh coriander for the salsa – or you could even add a couple of teaspoons of dried coriander.
- Using a fork to squeeze inside a halved lime will get lots more juice out of it. Check out the recipe video to see how it’s done.
- If you don’t have any lime juice for the salsa, lemon juice or a dash of white wine vinegar work just as well.
- Once you’ve mixed the salsa ingredients together, leave it to sit for a while at room temperature to let all the flavours come together.
- To make a vegetarian version, try adding some roasted strips of butternut squash or a drained can of mixed beans to the pepper and onion mixture – or use your favourite meat alternative.
Slimming World leftover roast chicken fajitas
serves 4-6
FREE
ready in 30 minutes
What you need:
For the salsa:
400g red and yellow cherry tomatoes, chopped
a handful of fresh coriander, chopped
1-2 red chillies, finely chopped
2-3 limes, cut into wedges
For the fajitas:
3 peppers (any colours), deseeded and sliced
1 ½ large red onions, finely sliced
150g button mushrooms, sliced
3 sprigs of thyme
½ red chilli, finely chopped
1 heaped tsp smoked paprika
1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
4 cooked skinless and boneless chicken breasts or leftover cooked chicken
whole lettuce leaves (little gem, round or small cos), to serve
fat-free natural yogurt, to serve
What you do:
1. In a bowl, make the salsa by mixing together the tomatoes, coriander, the chillies and a good squeeze of lime juice, reserving the rest of the wedges for serving.
2. Place a non-stick frying pan over a high heat and add the peppers, onion and mushrooms. Add a little water if needed and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add in the thyme, a couple of twists of black pepper, chilli, paprika and cumin seeds and fry for another minute to cook the spices. Spoon the mixture into a bowl.
4. Shred the chicken with 2 forks and pile into another bowl.
5. Take all the bowls to the table, along with the lettuce leaves and yogurt. Let everyone help themselves by filling lettuce leaves with chicken, a squeeze of lime juice, peppers, onions and mushrooms, natural fat-free yogurt and salsa.
Who says you need wraps to enjoy fajitas? Sal’s flavour-packed fajita filling is the perfect partner for lettuce leaves – and makes this dish completely Free. It’s a delicious way to transform your leftovers, too!
When you join Slimming World, you’ll find hundreds of family-favourite recipes on the website and app, plus a useful Food Search tool that makes it easy to plan your meals. And that’s in addition to the expert advice and unbeatable support you’ll receive in a Slimming World group or in our welcoming Online Community – setting you up for a successful weight loss journey.
Please join in with the cook-along and let us know how you get on – we’d love to see what you’re creating, how you’ve made it work for you and the ingredients you’ve used. And you can share your pics on social media, too, using #EatWellAtHome.