Hey Gringo - you gotta try dis (Tesco Fajita Kit)

Member Name: yackers1

Product:	Tesco Fajita Kit
Date:	01/12/08 (374 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tasty, cheaper than alternatives and great value for money

Disadvantages: The tortillas in this kit aren't great

****What is a fajita?****

A Fajita is a Mexican dish consisting of meat cooked in 'spices' with red and green peppers and onion served in a tortilla wrap. Some people like to add sour cream, guacamole and grated cheese, although this is subject to taste.

****Why Tesco's own brand fajitas?****

My other half loves international cuisine and since being with her I have found that my taste buds and pallet has changed no end. It was a trip to Pedros (a Mexican restaurant in Chapel Field Park, Norwich) that persuaded me to try a chicken fajita.

I really enjoyed the taste so went looking for ways to replicate this dish at home. Our first choice was the Old El Paso fajita kit, but at nearly £3 (excluding the meat and other vital ingredients) it turned out to be quite expensive and more of a 'treat' dish.

Whilst in Tesco found their own brand fajita kit on special offer for £1.50, nearly half the cost of an Old El Paso kit so I thought I'd give it a try.

****What's in the box?****

The box contains 8 flour tortillas, spicy tomato salsa and the fajita seasoning.

****What's excluded?****

The box does not contain the meat, peppers, onion, sour cream, guacamole or cheese. This applies to all fajita kits though.

Considering the 'filling' is not included fajitas end up being quite a costly meal.

****What do I do with it then?****

Making fajitas is simple and you can use a variety of meat for the filling, although the most common is chicken. I always make mine with turkey since it is not only cheaper (great for the credit crunch and the difficult economic environment) but it seems to pick up the flavour of the spice so much better.

Put a small amount of oil in a pan, add the meat, add the fajita seasoning and stir fry. Once the meat is browned add freshly chopped onion rings, sliced red pepper and sliced green pepper and continue to cook for a further 2 - 3 minutes. Make sure that the onion and peppers are not cut up too small as they will not roll easily.

Warm the tortillas by micro-waving on full power for 45 seconds - 60 seconds or by wrapping them in foil and putting in a pre-heated oven (150 degrees Celsius) for 10 minutes.

Spoon in the filling, add some salsa, the sour cream, guacamole and grated cheese and bon appetite!

What could be more simple?

The fajita kit is suitable for vegetarians so non meat eaters can still enjoy the wonderful taste of fajitas, obviously the filling will need to be changed.

A suggested filling for vegetarians is to replace the meat with mushrooms and spring onions. I cannot comment on the taste of vegetarian fajitas, or how the mushrooms would pick up the flavour of the fajita seasoning since I am not vegetarian.

****Nutritional information****

One turkey fajita (excluding the sour cream, guacamole and cheese) will provide 110Kcal, 3.2g of protein, 19.9g of carbohydrates, 1.8g of fat, 1.1g of fibre and 0.7g of sodium.

Whilst the above does not sound too much it should be noted that one of the Tesco fajitas is very small (the tortillas are much smaller than the Old El Paso version) and you are likely to eat more. My other half does not have a very big appetite and she can manage 3.

There is an allergy advice in that the product includes wheat, gluten and mustard.

****How much does it cost?****

The normal price of the Tesco fajita kit is £1.67, although they are often on special offer where they can be had for as little as £1.50.

The Tesco fajita kit is a lot cheaper than competitive products.

***How does the Tesco version compare to other versions?****

The Tesco version is much cheaper and is very good value for money.

I find that the fajita spice flavour is very different to the fajita spice mix included in the Old El Paso version in that it is much sweeter and a lot more spicy. This is great for me since I have a sweet tooth and like spicy food.

If you prefer a milder fajita then the Tesco version will not be suitable.

The Tesco tortillas are a lot smaller than those included in the Old El Paso version, which is a shame. This means that the meat, onion and peppers have to be cut smaller to fit. It also means that you will need more per person. My other half and I find that we will eat all 8 of the tortillas, whereas when we used to have Old El Paso kits we would only eat 6. This is not such a bad thing since the amount of calories is about the same it's just that there is no wastage (the other 2 tortillas (when using the Old El Paso kit) used to get put in the bread bin, go hard and then get thrown away).

****Would I recommend it?****

If you like spicier fajitas then I would recommend the Tesco kit. The tortillas are not as big, nor as tasty as those in the Old El Paso kit (although there is not much in it in the taste) the Tesco kit is a lot less than the Old El Paso kit and it is much better value for money.

Personally, I prefer the fajita spice mix of the Tesco kit since it is sweeter and spicier.

In an ideal world I would prefer the Tesco fajita mix and the Old El Paso tortillas but you have to take the rough with the smooth.

Unfortunately Tesco does not sell the fajita spice mix on its own which is a shame as it does not allow the consumer to mix and match. I have tried to make my own fajita spice seasoning but there are so many ingredients included that I have not been able to produce a mix with the right quantity of each ingredient and the resultant spice mix is awful.

Summary: A good alternative to the Old El Paso version