…a little over a pound. Lovely, fresh, petite stuff, from the local farmers’ market. The sort of summer bounty that makes Augusts more or less tolerable.
Creole Gumbo, or Southern Succotash (okra, corn, tomatoes, onions)?
I may have enough for both.
I couldn’t resist slicing, breading and frying it. Nothing better with fresh sliced tomatoes.
Pickle some. Great in a Bloody Mary.
Concur. I’ve also had okra grilled (in a basket, with olive oil) but really, fried is the best way to eat okra.
The newest starter at work is Indian. She does an enormous amount of home cooking including making her own breads and paneers. Her Aussified kids apparently fail to appreciate the quality of her cooking, and she happily brings in stuff to feed me and one of the other guys, because we really, really love it all. After a discussion one day about how disgusting okra is she brought in a container of bhindi masala and I was converted.
When you know what you are doing with it you can make some great stuff.
We grill it with sesame oil, garlic and whatever spices sound good at the moment.
Having grown up in Japan, my favorite way to eat okra is to microwave it for a minute or two, slice it, then mix with some bonito flakes and soy sauce (or better yet, Japanese noodle sauce, which is mostly soy sauce, dashi and mirin). Best eaten on top of hot steamed rice. You can also add grated ginger, shiso (parilla), etc.
Of course the okra ends up getting slimy this way. The Japanese know how to appreciate slimy food.
Gumbo!!! I love okra no mater how it’s prepared.
Had it with cold noodles today. Yum.
What I thought was a pound turned out to be only ten ounces, so I turned it ALL into gumbo, which I started about four hours ago.
Sautéed a chicken breast and two thighs (bone and skin on) sprinkled with Slap Yo Mama Cajun seasoning in a quarter cup of good olive oil, along with a quarter pound of sliced Lancaster County Amish smoked sausage.
Removed the meat and made a roux in the grease with flour. Dark mahogany brown.
Added three cups of mixed chopped onion, celery, pale green Italian frying pepper, and scallion. After three minutes, added the topped, tailed, sliced okra and three minced garlic cloves.
After 15 minutes, added two large fresh Jersey tomatoes, diced. Along with salt, cayenne, thyme, and bay leaves.
After another 15 minutes, added a little over a quart of homemade chicken stock, the fried chicken and sausage, and another quarter pound of sausage. Simmered for one hour.
Removed the chicken and set to cool. In another half hour. I’ll rip the meat off the bones and put it back in the pot. Then shut off the heat and let it cool.
Then I will probably order take-out Indian and let the gumbo age overnight in the fridge.
Anyone in the Brooklyn/NYC/Tristate area wanna come over for dinner tomorrow night? It’s far too much for me.
Chesty female brunettes preferred.
I’m not big on okra generally, but my wife makes an awesome bhindi masala. Unfortunately I do almost all the cooking, and I can’t cook okra for shit, so it’s been a long time since I’ve had it.
^^^ Yep.
Just had some leftover fried okra with our (also leftover) blackeyed peas about 10 minutes ago for supper.
I love it stewed with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, oregano, and lemon. Served with leg of lamb and rice and I’m in Heaven.
Yes!
On purpose?
I like it done Japanese-style, too. My recipe is to leave the okra whole (leaving the cap on but trimming away a little of it), and to steam them for a couple of minutes. I then put on ponzu sauce or a lemon-and-soy mixture, and top it with bonito flakes. Leaving the cap on cuts down on the sliminess, plus it’s satisfying to bite into a whole okra at once. I like the say those little tender white kernels pop when you crunch down on them.
When I was in grad school my wife worked for a vegetable cannery in SW Louisiana. She brought home tons of okra (cooked) from cans the ladies who worked for her opened for quality control purposes. Good stuff.
We make gumbo often.
My favorite remains pickled. But I’ve only ever gotten them pre-pickled, and don’t know how long it takes.
When I was a teenager, my dad and I would sometimes go to a greasy spoon, not far from our house, that had pretty good fried okra. The place was just OK, but I always think of it and my dad when I think of okra.
I just Googled the place. Other than the prices, I don’t think their menu has changed in 30 years.