okra bean stew

 This was ok.  Idea from here.

- 1/2-1 onion, chopped

- 1 stalk celery, chopped

- 1-2 carrots, sliced 

 - 2 cloves garlic

- diced tomatoes (1 can was too much if they're saucy)

- 1 c. (ish) stock or bouillon

- 1/2-1 jar white beans

- 10 oz-ish okra

Heat up a pan and saute onion, celery, and carrots until soft. Add garlic for 30 seconds or so, until aromatic.  Add tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil.  Let simmer for 10ish minutes.  Add okra and beans and let it cook another 10-15 minutes.  Season with salt, pepper, Tony Chachere's.  Eat with rice. 

pickled okra

 Years ago I made an amazing pickled okra but I apparently did not record the recipe. 

So here goes.

This is what I did today, and I can adjust accordingly.

Sterilize jars in boiling water bath.  Warm lids.  

Make brine:

- 2 cups white vinegar

- 2 cups filtered water

- 1 T. salt

Heat it up for salt to dissolve.

Clean okra and trim caps (but not all the way).

Into each jar (pint size or somewhat larger*):

- 1 tsp mustard seed (scant)

- 1 tsp dill seed (scant)

- 1 tsp peppercords (heaping)

- 1 garlic clove

Fill with okra, pour in the brine to 1/4".  Put on lids.

Process in hot water bath** for 10 minutes.

Let them brine for three weeks or so before opening.  Shelf stable though I refrigerate after opening.

*I reused some jars a neighbor gave me, probably about 24 oz, that had grape leaves in them and were nice and round.

**The jars were too tall so I processed on low in canner for 10 minutes. 

okra stew with chicken and sausage

 I won't call this gumbo because the sausage isn't andouille and I don't ever make a roux, but it is super super good and I got to use up things in fridge and freezer.  

Ingredients

• 2 links sausage (always great with andouille but I had Polish sausage to use up), sliced
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped fine
  
• 2 stalks celery (I didn't have it but it is always good)
• 4 cloves garlic
  
• okra (I've been saving it all week as my plants are starting to produce; it was maybe 3/4#?), chopped (and/or small pods); slice with sharp knife to avoid sliminess
  
• splash apple cider vinegar if needed
  
• chicken (maybe 1 c.? I strip from rotisserie chicken and freeze in baggies)
• 2 cup chicken stock
  
• 2 tsp Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning
• 1 tsp file powder

Process

1. In pot over medium heat with oil, brown sausage.

2. Add onions, pepper, and celery and cook until lightly browned/onion translucent.

3.  Add garlic and cook a couple of minutes, stirring.

4.  Put this mixture in a bowl.  Add more oil to pan, heat.

5.  Cook okra about 5-7 minutes until with brown spots.  If it's slimy at all, add some ACV.

6.  Add back in the sausage mixture.  

7.  Add 2 cups chicken stock, heat.

8.  Add in the chopped chicken.  

9.  Add in the Tony Chachere's.

10.  Bring to low boil and let simmer covered for about 15 minutes.  

11.  Add in the file powder, stir, and taste.  

Eat with rice. 

potato-sausage-spinach-okra soup

In a quest to empty my fridge and eat something light, this soup came on my menu evening.

Potato sausage spinach okra soup

Brown sausage (I had 2 links of chicken sausage in my freezer to use up)
with 1 chopped onion and 3 cloves of garlic

When the sausage is brown, add in
2 potatoes
4 c. stock (I used chicken stock I'd made)

Add salt and pepper
 Toss in about 20 pods of okra*

When the potatoes are tender, add in
3 c. chopped fresh spinach and cook for a few minutes more



*Fresh is best, and it needs to be dry.  I slice off the cap and then into 2" pieces or so and toss them in.  

oven roasted vegetables and chicken pieces

Seeking inspiration I found this recipe, which I tweaked.

*chicken pieces (I got 2 legs and 2 thighs in the mystery package) - seasoned with salt and pepper
*about 3 cups of small tomatoes
*1 small eggplant
*okra (maybe 4 cups?)
*drained can of cannellini beans
*2 heads of garlic, divided into cloves
*1 onion, sliced
*basil (sadly no fresh, so I dumped a bunch of dried)
*paprika (fresh chili peppers would have been better but didn't have any)
*olive oil (a couple of good glugs)

I tossed everything in together and gave it a stir.

350 degrees for an hour and a half, stirring occasionally.

****
This turned out quite flavorful yet soupy. I'd likely not add the vegetables until the end in the future because they're too mushy for my tastes. And the chicken was tender but definitely not crispy - this was more stewed.

Serious problems with controlling the temperature of my oven, but it seemed to work out ok. Not fab, but fine. Tasty and satisfying with a hunk of bread.

okra soup

An impending move has me seriously examining the contents of my freezer, knowing I need to empty it. I've spent the past year filling it with all sorts of treasures, so this is a challenge for me. But also a fun challenge!

Fry pancetta or bacon (alternatively, use cubed meat and/or a soup bone). Then saute onion & garlic & chopped peppers (bell and/or spicy).

Add in vegetables. I shall add:
*okra, frozen
*corn, frozen
*green beans, frozen
*spinach, frozen
*diced tomatoes, canned
*1 c tomato juice

Add enough stock/water/whey/bouillon to cover. Cook 30 minutes or so.

Season to taste with salt, pepper, herbs & spices. Probably a dash of salt and a few grinds of lemon pepper will satisfy me (and cayenne if no hot peppers).

goat and collards

Seeking to clear my refrigerator and freezer, I shall assemble a West African-style "soup." Sorry for the lack of measurements - I just empty up what I have.

*onion, chopped
*garlic
*goat meat, chopped
*peppers - bell or chili (in Liberia, they mash the garlic & chili peppers in a mortar/pestle - not chop. Makes the flavor richer)
*(celery)
*collards, one bunch, cleaned thoroughly and chopped; and/or other greens (such as mustard greens, cabbage, etc.)
*okra (frozen is fine)
*diced tomatoes (a can; or some tomato paste, juice, sauce, etc. - the acid helps tenderize the goat and adds a great flavor)
*other vegetables as desired including carrots, potatoes, yams, etc.
*stock (I use whey from yogurt making and homemade stock)
*seasonings to taste (salt, pepper - in Liberia they use a lot of MSG, which I do not; can also blend in a couple tablespoons of peanut butter toward the end of cooking)

Saute onion, garlic, peppers, and celery (if desired) over medium-low heat in peanut oil. (High heat will burn garlic and make it bitter.)

Add in goat meat and brown it. (Or remove the first ingredients and brown the goat alone)

Put that in a crock pot with the rest of the ingredients, add stock to cover, and let cook for several hours. The goat needs a long time to cook in order to tenderize, and that won't hurt the collards (I would use a tough green like collards rather than spinach for that reason, and any other vegetables added should be hearty as well to avoid turning to mush) - and the long time will help the flavors meld and the okra adds a great body.

Goes great on rice!

pickled okra salsa

A friend who knows I'm an okra pickling fiend just sent this to me (from Jan 2010 Southern Living Magazine) and I'm super stoked to try it!

Pickled Okra Salsa

5 whole pickled okra, sliced

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

4 tsp chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp. ground pepper

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with mild green chiles, drained

Pulse first 6 ingredients and half of tomatoes in a food processor 4 to 6 times or until thoroughly combined. Stir in remaining diced tomatoes. Serve immediately, or cover and chill. Store in refrigerator for up to 7 days. If refrigerated, let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 1 1/2 cups. Prep time: 10 min.

goat stew

Modeled after this. Used to have really excellent goat stew (called soup) in Ghana but I want to put some vegetables in it. I think the important things are the tomato, a little peanut butter, chilies and garlic, and cooking the goat a long darn time.

1 lb of goat
1-2 large onions (include the trinity of celery & pepper if desired)
2-4 cloves of garlic
a jalapeno or small chilies
2-3 T peanut oil
2-3 T tomato paste
a bay leaf or two
1/8 tsp of cloves
1/8 tsp of ginger
1 dash of cayenne
salt and white pepper
1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups of beef stock (I'll use bouillon) (add more water as necessary)
2-4 carrots (or some pumpkin or a yam), in chunks
1 pound okra
2 T peanut butter

Peel and dice the onions, and slice the carrots (or pumpkin).

Crush the garlic and chilies with mortar & pestle.

Heat up the butter to medium heat and saute the meat and onion, garlic, chilies for a few minutes (till onions are translucent). Put them in a crockpot.

Then add tomato puree, spices, lemon juice, and the stock.

Cook several hours in the crockpot (about 5 hours on high).

About an hour before serving, stir in vegetables and peanut butter.

Check the seasoning. I like it with white rice.

***
This turned out really good, though I'd go lighter on the cloves. It has a rich, deep flavor. Other vegetables would be really good too, such as green beans and zucchini (though added late, to make not mushy).

stewed okra

I admit it: I'm a complete okra fiend. If I had to choose between chocolate and okra, I'm not sure which would win. It might be on my top 10 list (see Jenny's prior post), though I have a really hard time conceptualizing my diet like that.

One of the key reasons I love it so is that it grows like a weed in my backyard. For a few months of the year, it's the key vegetable of my diet. Because it's soooo darn good. And while I may be a Yankee by birth, I'm all Dixie in the kitchen.

Today's stewed okra was born of necessity: I'd been hoping to save up enough okra to pickle some more, but with the cooler weather I'm not harvesting enough. I had a bag of maybe 50 pods that was going down hill fast, and it needed stewing 911. And it is amazing. I meant to eat it with rice and white beans tonight, but it won't last that long.

****
In a cast-iron skillet, heat some peanut oil. If said skillet was recently used for sauteing andouille, bacon, or other such meats - so much the better. Erica at Bacon Concentrate waxes poetic on her love for pork fat, and let me just say: she's not wrong. But one of the best parts is that a little goes a long way.

Saute the trinity and garlic over low heat. (However, today I had used all the garlic, bell pepper, and celery in the beans and had none left. So it was just onions, which I had frozen when I got onions on sale months back.)

Add in the okra, sliced to about 1/4" thickness (or larger). I like a variety of sizes for a variety of textures. Stir it up good, let it heat up.

Add in a can of diced tomatoes. Sprinkle some Creole seasoning on the top. Stir well, and let it stew, stirring occasionally.

I probably let it cook for about 20 minutes, but then some okra stuck to the pan so it was done.

And soooooo good!!

garbanzo okra tomato curry

Heat oil (1-2 T).

Saute okra (1/2 - 1#, cleaned and chopped into 1-2" pieces) until browned.

Remove okra from pan. Add some more oil as necessary and turn down heat.

Saute:
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
peppers (hot, bell, whatever you got), chopped (very finely if hot pepper)

Add in:
2 chopped tomatoes

1 T cumin
1 T coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp fennel (though I accidentally put in cardamom instead!)
1/2 tsp amchur powder
1 tsp turmeric
Note: the spices are just about what I threw in. Choose your own mix or just a curry powder.

Add liquid if necessary.
Cook for a bit. (3-5 minutes)
Add in:
cooked garbanzos (I put in equivalent of 2 cans)

Cook for a bit longer. (another 3 minutes or so)

Add in cooked okra and let it cook another 5-10 minutes until it seems ready (tomatoes have lost shape, spices are distributed). Taste and adjust spices accordingly.

Eat on rice. Great as leftovers!

curried okra with chickpeas

So, I made "Hyderbadi-style" okra and it was ok. Who knew I wasn't a fan of amchur powder? It's dried green mango and adds a little acid balance (lemon juice can be substituted, I've read). I usually add it with many other things so its flavor doesn't come through. It's really the aroma that I don't like - it's prevalent in many Indian restaurants and shops. It smells ... I can't describe it. Almost like stale smoke-less incense. So this recipe really focused more on the amchur powder, and so now I know.

Anyway, my favorite part is the okra. I slice it into maybe 1-2" segments and saute it alone and can I just say again HOW MUCH I LOVE OKRA. I just can't get enough.

Next time I will try based on this recipe, adding some chickpeas. They're also a nutritional powerhouse - and cheap. I will fiddle with the spices though - not crazy of the curry mix I have now. Probably needs more cumin and coriander. I might try to get some fresh curry leaves and try that.

OK, grow, okra, grow! It'd be great if I could harvest enough to also pickle ... but that's looking doubtful at this point because I could eat it fried every day every meal until the end of the season ...

simple bacon fat-fried okra

A shameless snack!

I have about 10 pods of okra from my garden (today & yesterday's haul), and they are very small and tender, so ...

I'm cooking a couple slices of "black forest" bacon for broccoli salad.

Keep the grease in the hot pan, toss in the clean, trimmed okra (I cut off the cap end almost to the seed pod; I don't wash because I know they're from my garden - just brush them off).

Let fry a couple minutes without stirring, then keep an eye on them and stir until nicely browned.

Drain and enjoy!

In the future I will try them cut up, with cornmeal, etc. - but this simple method will be wonderful!

more okra recipes to try!

masala bhindi (stuffed) (bhindi is the word for okra in a language in India - not sure which one - but honestly it's a good thing I already turned in my name change application because I'd probably make "Bhindi" my middle name!)

bhindi ki subji (stir-fried)

gumbo (with chicken & andouille, since shellfish makes me ill)

spicy fried okra (with potatoes)

Hyderabadi-style okra

... and so many more!

Now I just need my okra plants to be yet more prolific!

tandoori chicken, Indian okra & tomatoes, spinach raita

Tandoori chicken from here

Ingredients

• 1 (4 to 4 1/2 pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces, skin removed (I used chicken thighs)
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped ginger
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped serrano or jalapeno pepper, stem and seeds removed
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 11/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

With a fork, prick holes in the chicken pieces. Using a knife, cut diagonal slices 1-inch apart, and 1/2-inch deep into the larger pieces. Place the chicken in a baking dish. (I kept the skin on to keep it all moist, and then it burned & I could take it off. So I cut/poked through the skin into the flesh.)

In a blender, combine the oil, onion, garlic, ginger, pepper, and process on high speed to a paste. Add the paprika, salt, cumin, turmeric, coriander, garam masala, and cayenne, and process until well blended. Add the yogurt and lemon juice, and process to a smooth sauce, scraping down the sides to combine all the ingredients. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Turn to coat evenly, rubbing the marinade into the holes and slits. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and up to 24 hours, turning occasionally.

Preheat a grill.

Remove the chicken from the marinade. Place on the grill and cook for 8 to 10 minutes on the first side. Turn, baste as needed, and cook on the second side for 8 to 10 minutes. Turn and continue cooking, as necessary until the chicken is cooked through, but still tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. (Alternately, bake in a preheated 425 degrees F oven on a baking sheet for 35 minutes.)

(I cooked 10 min on first side, about 5 minutes on the other, then basted and cooked each side 2 minutes. I could have cooked a little longer - slightly pink inside but fine.)

Truth: this didn't really taste like tandoori chicken. But it was darned good!

*****

Indian okra & tomatoes from here. (But I'm changing the directions.) (Note: While this was fine the day it was cooked, warmed up the next day on some rice it was FAB-U-LOUS. A real taste treat. This will definitely stay in the okrepetoire.)

Combine & set aside:

2 teaspoon cumin ground
2 teaspoon coriander ground
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed ground (or take these as seeds and then grind)
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/4 teaspoon turmeric

3 tablespoon vegetable oil (or less)
1/2 lb okra; trimmed and left whole (or frozen) - about 20 pods - (I'm not sure the value of keeping the pods whole - I might try them sliced next time)

Heat oil. When oil is hot, add okra in a single layer & fry without stirring for 1 minute. Cook for a few more minutes, turning until lightly browned. Remove w/slotted spoon & set aside.

2 cup finely chopped onion
Saute until light golden (about 5 minutes), stirring frequently.

Then add & cook until caramel brown (8-10 minutes:
2 cloves pressed garlic
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Add spice mixture & stir a few seconds, then add:
1 1/2 cup finely chopped peeled fresh tomatoes; or 1 small can whole tomatoes
salt to taste
water or the juice from the canned tomatoes (recipe says 1 cup but that was way too much)

Cook for a bit until mixture thickens (about 3 minutes). Then add the okra back in and cook a bit (recipe says 20 minutes, but no way - just a few would have been way better).

Stir in a little & garnish with:
3 tablespoon chopped cilantro

*****

From The Spice Box:

Spinach yogurt salad (Palak Ka Raita)
2 c yogurt
1 c boiled, chopped spinach
salt to taste
1 tsp oil
1tsp mustard seeds

Beat the yogurt with a fork in a bowl until smooth. Add the spinach and stir.

In a little pan heat the oil and add mustard seeds and fry until they pop. Pour over salad. Stir & refrigerate until chilled.

(This was pretty good but either the seeds or oil was rancid - blech.)

okra & sausage from Ms. Virginia

I gave a basket of okra to my neighbor and she exclaimed, "Oh, good! I have some smoked sausage that I'll cook this with and it'll be so good."

Oh, how do you do that Ms. Virginia? (and actually the smoked sausage is from yesterday - I was there for that conversation when a young woman on her lunch break from work dropped off the smoked sausage for her uncle who had just turned the corner - literally - so told Virginia she could have it. I love my neighborhood!)

Clean the okra , dry it, chop it with a sharp knife ["How thin do you slice it? I heard it gets too slimy if it's too thin"; "The slimy doesn't bother me, and if it's too slimy you can add just a tiny bit of vinegar - and the sharp knife sure helps")

Fry it with some onion and garlic, maybe some bell pepper [I'm thinking of the trinity, but she didn't mention celery]

Cook that sausage in with it [I didn't ask, but probably over rice] [I just transcribed an interview with the author of Gumbo Tales who said: "I find this to be an amazing sausage town. It’s one of my favorite things about it. Poor vegetarians"]

Add some chicken breasts in to make a meal of it all.

***
So simple, so flavorful, so New Orleans. Sometimes I look at okra and think, "Oh golly, this will be a process" - a roux, a stew, or pickling. (None of which is really a terrible process at all but sometimes I'm just tired when I see 20 pods of okra.) But cooking it down and "smothering" with it is always fantastic.

Virginia is the one who told me about blueberry dumplings which I will try for sure next year. She describes things really well, is a fantastic source of knowledge, and generous with said knowledge.