A few weeks ago, my girlfriends and I had another vegan night. When trying to figure out what to make, I went with something near and dear to my heart – Tex-Mex food. After all, I am from Dallas. Every so often I need to refresh my Texan pallet with some good ol’ down home cooking.
I don’t know why, but Mexican food just hasn’t taken off in Israel. A long time ago, during my pre-vegan days, I used to love going to a restaurant called Amigos, in Jerusalem. It was the only place that I knew of to get real Mexican food. It closed down more than 10 years ago, and I haven’t had a fajita since. That is, until I made them myself out of seitan.
- Yield: 6
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
Fajitas
You can use store bought seitan, but if you want to save some money, you can make it yourself!
Ingredients
- seitan - 1/2 recipe homemade, or 1 package store bought
- olive oil - 2 tablespoons
- garlic - 2 cloves, crushed
- cilantro - 1 cup, chopped
- lemon juice - 3 tablespoons
- salt - to taste
- pepper - to taste
- onion - 2 sliced thinly
Instructions
- Cut the seitan into thin strips.
- Mix all the ingredients together, minus the onions.
- Let marinate for at least an hour (overnight is better)
- Heat oil in a skillet and fry onions until translucent.
- Add seitan and cook until heated through
Allergens
One of the cool things about using seitan is that you don’t have to worry about how long you cook it. By the time it hits that pan, it’s already been cooked through.
For the night with the girls, we had grilled veggies, guacamole, red rice, corn bread, soup and salad to round out the meal. To top it all off, I made Mexican Wedding Cookies from The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur
The food was great, but more than enjoying what was on our plates, we just had a great time talking and spending time together. With everyone’s busy schedules, it seems to be something that has become increasingly more difficult to do. Food is a great excuse to come together. We really should do it more often!
I remember Amigos when it was on Yoel Salomon Street, about 28 years ago. I agree with you, I don’t understand why Mexican food hasn’t been popular here in Israel, the food is soooooo good!
I’ve been in Israel about 20 years, and I know I was there when my 15-year-old was a baby (she had her first solid food there – please don’t call family services 😉 ) I didn’t realize that it had been open for so long. If they were able to keep their doors open for so long, I really wonder why they closed down.
Dave and I have been saying the same thing – we also miss Amigos! If it’s not only us, maybe we need to do something about this…
Looks like your get-together was a lot of fun!
I would love to open a restaurant. My kids think that I’m crazy. I have the whole thing planned out in my mind. If it ever comes into being, I’ll make sure to include Tex-Mex on the menu!