Fajita Meat

By: Joy Boudreau

Juice of one lime

Three large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed or minced

2 Tablespoons of soy sauce

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons peeled and grated fresh ginger (do not substitute dried ginger powder)

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon Lawry's season salt

2-3 drops red pepper sauce

1-2 lbs steak, flank steak, or your choice

1 medium bell pepper

2 Tablespoons of cooking oil

Combine lime juice, crushed garlic, soy sauce, olive oil, fresh ginger, black pepper, season salt, and red pepper sauce in a medium bowl or sealable container to make the marinade. Partially freeze the steak. Using a sharp knife on a cutting board, slice the partially frozen steak as thinly as possible into long strips. The actual size doesn't really matter, but aim for 1/4 inch wide and 2 inches long; make the strips as uniform as possible so cooking is even (freezing will make the meat easier to cut). Add the strips to the marinade and mix well; soak overnight or at least 8 hours.

Cut the bell pepper open and remove stem, seeds, and any membrane in the cavity. Slice into evenly thin pieces and halve (about one inch long each and as thin as you can cut them). If you prefer color, you can use an orange or yellow bell pepper; red or green will also work fine. Heat 2 Tbsp. cooking oil in a large frying pan on medium-high. Drain the marinading meat in a sieve, and pat dry with a towel (do not rinse). When the pan with oil is hot, add drained meat and pepper slices all at once. Be prepared to stir quickly as the mixture sizzles. Cooking liquid will come out of the meat and peppers; drain this liquid when it starts collecting by lifting the pan off the stove and carefully tipping it over a sink until the liquid drains (you may want to do this over a sieve in case some of the meat falls out--that way, you can easily pick it up and put it back into the pan to cook. Continue to cook on medium-high heat until the meat is richly browned and the peppers test tender with a fork. You may need to drain the liquid off twice. The final product should look almost dry.

Serve warm with cooling vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, olives), cheese, salsa; great for wraps; also great cold to top a summer salad. Because of the lime juice, ginger, and garlic, this recipe has more Caribbean tropical connotations (not Mexican); expect a very bright flavor explosion; it will get the taste buds sizzling on a summer day with fresh limeade on the side.