Roasted Okra

[chowmel]

Received a pint of okra from my csa. My only okra experience was campbells chicken gumbo soup as a kid. But these fingers were beautiful ! So soft, such a lovely green. I had to try them. Don't like cleaning up frying - so I roasted. Oil, salt, pepper, cumin, aleppo pepper, 450 10- 15 minutes. Delicious. Tender. Soft and crispy !

[FoodFuser]

Sorta' Roasted:

Chowed in a hot wok. Sliced into 2/3 inch pieces, with thick diced onions. Start with onions and minimum oil, then the okra, over really high heat. The varying "mucilage" of onions and okra blend well. Spice it up in the last 60 seconds with your choice from garam to gumbo.

[FLnow]

My favorite way to eat okra is fried in cornmeal and drained well on paper towels so it's not greasy. A staple at southern buffet-style restaurants.

Boiled okra will not be "slimey" if cooked with tomatoes. It can be found this way in cans, at least in the south.

[toitoi]

Until I read chowmel's recipe, yours is the only way I've ever made okra, but I cook down onions, add garlic, and a couple of dried chili peppers, or if I have them, I thinly slice 1 fresh Thai bird chili pepper, and yes the seeds go in the pot.

[toitoi]

Used your recipe tonight, including the aleppo pepper. They sure were delicious.

[walker]

I love okra when it's done the right way -- too many people dislike it tho. I once read in the newspaper that someone said they'd never eat okra because they didn't want to eat anything that looked like it needed a shave and a kleenex.

[chowfamily]

In the hands of a good cook, okra may make you forget to shave and use a kleenex only to wipe the tear from your eye.

[powella]

Amen to that, altho' I say if they don't want it, I'll eat their share!!!

[walker]

There's a great recipe for fresh okra in Mangoes & Curry Leaves.

[JiyoHappy]

How does this look
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yatzD1...

[drmimi]

Manjuli's Kitchen--- I want to GO THERE!
Yummy!

[drmimi]

I have found my peeps-- okra lovin' types... the shorter and younger the okra- the more tender-- the faster cooked the less gelatinous...
ephemeral food in my book:)

[howboy]

I made okra tonight. cut 'em into wheels, then plunged into boiling water for 45 seconds, then cold water. Back into pot for brief heating with fresh chopped beefsteak tomato, s & p. Sooooooooo good.

[weezycom]

I''ll have to try that.

My favorite way recently is to make it Middle Eastern style. Pick very small pods, saute in olive oil w/ a generous amount of garlic, add some tomato sauce and fresh lemon juice, chopped fresh parsley if you have it, S&P, and serve over rice or couscous. I also like to make fried garlic slices to sprinkle on top if I have time.

[ESNY]

My favorite way, is to wash and slice into wheels, maybe 1/2 inch thick and dust with cornmeal. Then pan fry in a little oil in a cast iron skillet for a few minutes per side. Then put them in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper. Let rest for a few minutes or you'll burn your mouth. Seriously, the best snack ever. I could easily eat 10 lbs of okra this way.

[chowfamily]

My grandmother prepared them this way and they were memorable, and it seems straightforward, but I have often had the cornmeal slide into a congealed mess, both in and out of the pan - a waste of great cornmeal and okra. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks in advance for any help.

[ESNY]

Do you shake off the excess cornmeal? Thats the only thing I can think of. I toss with the cornmeal and then shake off the excess. Its definitely should be just a light coating not a thick batter type coating. Or maybe you aren't letting the pan and oil get hot enough so the cornmeal sucks up the oil and slides off?

[powella]

My mother (a Texan)'s technique is to put a very small amount of flour and water in with her cornmeal. My brother and I made sure that my mother's fried okra never reached the table. Better than popcorn!

[WCchopper]

Try cornflour, a super-fine cornmeal, to dredge instead of the regular corn meal. It sticks better and fries well in a small amount of fat.

[WCchopper]

BTW, I am literally chewing a mouthful of Indian spiced stewed okra as I type.

[anzu]

I just tried this. Got some okra after reading this thread, and did the cornmeal dusting/pan-frying thing. It was DELICIOUS and so simple. You just made my evening. Thanks! :)

[Tripeler]

This is pretty much the way my grandmother fried okra when I was a kid. Of course, she insisted on frying it in bacon drippings, and in the last stage would just hammer it with black pepper, which would get the benefit of the hot bacon grease to really open it up.

These days I use powdered kombu tea (kombu-cha) in place of the salt and pepper and since it also contains a tiny bit of lactose, there is a tiny hint of sweetness in the background, along with all that savory "umami" flavor from the kelp (kombu). Oh, yeah, and when we have no bacon fat available I use high-end extra virgin olive oil, something that my grandmother would have never recognized.

[drmimi]

2 inspiring ways to prep okra-- I am a major okra fan...making my heart skip a beat..
BTW cooking whole or sliced? How big were your okra?

[chowmel]

I roasted them whole. Ate as "finger" food. They ranged from 1 to maybe 4 or 5 inches.

[joshlane4]

btw, mine were whole too...

[joshlane4]

I do a similar preparation on the grill and love it!

Wash->ziplock w/ oil, S&P, spices->toss->grill basket->grill on medium for ~10 minutes

mmm...