Fun with Okra!

WE’RE BACK WITH ANOTHER INSTALLMENT OF  FOOD YOU (STILL) DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH, IN WHICH YOU SEND ME YOUR CULINARY CONUNDRUMS AND MY SON, RUDY, AND I HANG OUT TOGETHER IN THE KITCHEN, TALK ABOUT STUFF AND TRY TO MAKE SOME SENSE OF THEM FOR YOU.

Oh, Okra. We are all a little scared of you, if I'm being honest. But nevertheless, you are our challenge for this installment and I knew when Mel R. suggested you to me as an ingredient that I would be working to create something that eliminates your most divisive characteristic....

SLIME.

Here's a very short audio intro for your listening pleasure!

There's a reason okra is a classic gumbo ingredient. When cooked long, as it softens, it secretes a kind of mucilaginous...uh, stuff...that thickens the stew. Americans don't much like to eat this sort of texture, but it's quite appreciated in other parts of the world. There are versions of okra (or okro) stew found in several African nations, including this one from Ghana. For a live action shot of its signature characteristic, check out this video by YouTube content creator, Emmymade. Skip to the 4 minute mark for an extravaganza of ooze!

I shuddered!

But! I know there are ways to prepare okra that purport to get around this. Pickling is one, and I have enjoyed pickled okra on many occasions but was not about to attempt it at home. This recipe at Black People's Recipes looks great. Let me know if you try it!

So pretty! So architectural! Look, you can see the slime already seeping!

For this project, we decided to go HIGH HEAT all the way, with two very slightly different preparations The first was a nod to an Indian dish I had at some point, prepared on the stove top in a screaming hot cast iron pan, with ghee and some spices. This recipe is a great starting point, but I left out the serrano peppers and the onion and just went with some good ground cumin, salt and pepper.

I used a fair bit of ghee so wanted to drain them a little on paper towel to retain the crispness.

The second was just my favorite way to cook most vegetables: roasted at 400 degrees in olive oil and salt.

So dramatic looking!

Let me just cut to the chase: it worked! Both versions were nicely browned, slightly crispy and, I thought, delicious. Hard to describe the flavor because it's very much itself, but if pressed to I think I would say green beans? Raw, the pods have that same sort of grassy scent fresh beans do.

Rudy liked it fine but said he didn't think he'd be super into making it again. Paul tried but just. could. not. Slime memory trauma is real!

I ended up eating most of both plates myself and enjoying the hell out of them. I also quickly Googled "okra poisonous dog" and learned that, in fact, dogs can also enjoy this tasty veggie that some call a "superfood." High in magnesium, folate, fiber, and a bunch of other good things.

So yeah, me and the dogs and our okra. All the good stuff!

FOR MORE SHEILA AND RUDY COOKING CONTENT, PRE-ORDER MY DEBUT ESSAY COLLECTION, ALL THINGS EDIBLE RANDOM AND ODD: ESSAYS ON GRIEF, LOVE AND FOOD, COMING FROM CLASH BOOKS IN NOVEMBER, 2023!