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Southwestern Fajitas

Sautéed onions and peppers with a spice blend, served on tortillas with cheese, lettuce, and tomato.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Cumin and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Southwestern Fajitas

Timeabout 5 minutes for roasting the spices

Ingredients

Directions

Make the spice mixture

  1. Roast peppercorns, annatto seeds, cumin seeds, chili powder, and oregano in a dry saucepan over medium heat until the seeds begin to pop, about 5 minutes.

  2. Place the roasted seeds in a blender with the salt and grind finely. Set the spice mixture aside.

Cook the vegetables

  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium‑high heat and sauté the onions and peppers until soft, about 5 minutes.

  2. Add the spice mix and cook 3–5 minutes more, adding water if needed to keep the vegetables from sticking.

Assemble the fajitas

  1. Cover the stacked tortillas with paper towels and heat in the microwave on high for 30 seconds.

  2. Place each tortilla on a plate. Layer each tortilla with cheese, the vegetable mixture, lettuce, and tomato.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

956Calories
28 gProtein
29 gFat
146 gCarbs

Counts 13 of 15 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 13 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Tortilla1 medium flour (45g)140
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Lettuce1 cup shredded (36g)5
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Annattonot in our table0
Seednot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cumin + oreganotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together983 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Oregano + tomatotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,767 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  4. Cumin + tomatotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,272 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Cumin + lettucetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together218 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Monterey jack cheese
Melts into the filling, adding richness and creamy texture.
Onions
Soften and turn sweet as they cook, building the base flavor.
Bell peppers
Soften while cooking and add sweetness and vegetable bulk.
Olive oil
Carries the flavors of the spices and helps the vegetables brown lightly.
Annatto seeds
Add a warm orange color and a mild, earthy aroma to the filling.

The step that matters

Adding the spice mix and water to the vegetables. Ground spices scorch quickly in hot oil, so they need to be added to the vegetables and kept moist with a little water to bloom their aroma without burning or sticking.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cumin, oregano, olive, pepper, cheese, lettuce, tomato):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Eggplantfits better
  3. Spinachfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cumin, oregano, olive, pepper, cheese, lettuce, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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