This dish is a great simple version of a classic recipe. Since lots of folks have never eaten okra or what they have eaten turned them against it, maybe this dish will change their minds. Simple, spicy, quick and good. What more could you ask for in a recipe.
Food Trivia: Cajun and Creole recipes are often referred to as Gumbos. That only means that they contain okra. Okra came to North America via the slave trade and "gumbo" is the African name for okra. File Gumbo contains okra and sassafras powder, which is used as a thickener.
What you need:
10-12 medium pods of fresh okra, washed and sliced in 1/4 inch pieces
1 med green or red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2 med fresh tomatoes or 1 very large one
1 med onion, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves
Olive Oil for sauteing
Cayenne pepper
Sugar
Salt
This dish can be made thicker and served as a side dish. It can be served over rice as a vegetarian main dish. You can throw in a handful of peeled shrimp and it is Shrimp Creole. Use your imagination on this one!
Here is a bit more quirky collection of okra recipes that are surprisingly good!
KOTTOPOULA ME MPAMIEZ (CHICKEN WITH OKRA) GREEK
3 pounds Cut-up chicken parts (fryer)
Salt & pepper to taste
3 pounds Fresh okra
1/2 cup Vinegar
3/4 cup Butter
1 Onion, med. -- chopped
1 1/2 pounds Tomatoes, peeled -- strained
2 cups Water
Wash the chickens. (If they are whole, cut into serving pcs.). Season lightly with salt & pepper, and set them aside to drain. Wash the okra. Remove the stems carefully, without cutting the okra. Line them up in a large flat pan and sprinkle with the vinegar; place in the sun for 30 min to 1 hour.
Brown the butter in a pot, add the chicken, and saute until brown, then add the onion and let it brown. Add the tomatoes and boil for 3 to 5 min. Add water. Simmer for 30 min. Add okra and continue to simmer, covered, until tender. Watch carefully as this may need a little more water. The okra will have absorbed the liquid and only the oil should remain when the dish is cooked.
OKRA BEIGNETS
2 cups Okra -- Very Thinly Sliced
1 cup Onion -- Minced
1/4 cup Green Bell Pepper -- Minced
1/2 cup Cooked Rice
3 tablespoons Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 each Egg
1 tablespoon Water
1/2 teaspoon Hot Pepper Sauce -- Such As Tabasco
6 tablespoons vegetable oil -- *preferably peanut
Interesting Note: This recipe was adapted from one in the late Bill Neal's "Southern Cooking" (University of North Carolina Press, 1985), where he wrote that he would like to persuade theater owners to sell fried okra instead of popcorn! His beignets are terrific as appetizers or a centerpiece to a vegetarian meal.
Mix all ingredients except the oil,which is for frying,in a large bowl. *You can get the pan fairly hot if you use peanut oil. Otherwise, watch carefully and don't burn.
Spoon the okra mixture into the skillet by the tablespoonful. Fry for about 2 minutes, or until nicely browned. Turn and cook the other side. Remove to absorbent paper and keep the beignets warm until all are cooked.
OKRA ITALIANO
1 Onion -- chopped
1 Clove garlic -- sliced
4 lg Tomatoes -- coarsely chopped
1 lb Okra -- cut into 1/2" thick -rounds
1/2 c Wine, white
1 Bay leaf
1 t Oregano
pn Sea salt
pn Black pepper
6 c Rice -- cooked, hot
2 tb Parsley, fresh -- chopped
2 tb Olives, ripe -- sliced
Combine onion, garlic, tomatoes, okra and wine in a large skillet and bring to a boil.
Add bay leaf and oregano. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season with salt and pepper and ladle over rice. Garnish with parsley and olives.
SWEET & SOUR OKRA
14 oz Young okra, trimmed & cut -- into 2" lengths
7 ea Garlic cloves
1 ea Dried red chili
7 tb Water
2 ts Cumin
1 t Coriander
1/2 ts Turmeric
4 tb Vegetable oil
1 t Cumin seeds
1 t Salt
1 t Sugar
4 ts Lemon juice
Blend the garlic, chili & 3 tb water into a paste & empty into a bowl. Stir in the ground cumin, coriander & turmeric. Mix. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the cumin seeds & let them sizzle for a few seconds.
Slightly reduce the heat & pour in the spice paste. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the okra, salt, sugar & lemon juice along with remaining water. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cover tightly & cook over a low heat for 10 minutes.
PICKLED OKRA
This is really easy to make and is a great dill pickle alternative. I don't make mine so hot as these. And be sure you use the uniodized salt per the recipe or your okra will turn dark brown. Also, always use white vinegar that has been distilled from grain. Otherwise, it might have come from petroleum.
1 qt White vinegar
1 c Water
1/2 c Uniodized salt
Fresh okra
Dill seed
Hot red peppers
Hot green peppers
Garlic cloves
Place 1/2 t dill seed in bottom of each sterilized qt jar. Pack washed fresh okra as tightly as possible in each jar being careful not to bruise the okra. Add 1/2 tsp dill seed, 1 hot green pepper, 1 hot red pepper and 1 clove of garlic to each jar. Bring to boil the vinegar, water, and salt. Cover okra with hot mixture. Seal jars and allow to stand two weeks. Serve icy cold.
TAGINE OF OKRA & TOMATOES
(I put this recipe here because it is just strange.)
1/2 lb Okra
4 1/2 lb Tomatoes, peeled, seeded & -- chopped
2 tb Parsley, chopped
1 1/2 ts Sweet paprika
1 t Garlic, chopped
Salt
3 tb Vegetable oil
Wash, top & tail the okra. String together with thread into a "necklace". Over high heat, cook the tomatoes with the parsley, paprika, garlic, salt & oil, mashing down the tomatoes as they cook. After 10 minutes, lower the heat to medium, add the okra & begin to poach iti n the sauce. From time to time lift up the necklace to stir.
After the okra is tender, remove & keep warm. Continue to reduce the tomatoes until all the water has evaporated & the oil is released. Fry the tomatoes in this released oil, stirring continuously. Gently pull out the thread, place the okra in the serving dish. Pour the sauce over the top. Serve hot or lukewarm.
