These tender little guys are just screaming for a spot on your dinner plate! Today I’ll show you TWO ways to prepare them.
#1. BOILED OKRA
Boiled baby okra with onion and fresh tomato!
WHAT YOU NEED:
fat to sauté onion (I used bacon)
onion
fresh tomato
okra
salt & pepper
Sauté chopped onion in the bacon fat. I used about 2 tsp. of fat and half of a red onion.
When onion is translucent, add chopped tomatoes and stir. Season with salt and pepper.
Add okra. My CSA portion was right at a pound. I did cut off some of the upper stem. Stir to coat okra with other ingredients and then add ½-1 cup of water. Bring to boil, cover, and simmer about 6 minutes. Check for tenderness. Mine were done in about 7 minutes.
That’s it! Easy and delicious! This is how I prepare baby okra, but if I have larger pods that I slice, I use this recipe for Stewed Okra and Tomatoes. I use chicken broth in place of the chicken bouillon. I found the recipe to need more liquid, and the broth takes care of that.
# 2. FRIED OKRA
Super crunchy fried okra “fingers!”
Hubby loves fried okra, but he doesn’t get it very often, for a couple of reasons: health (Hello!) and because I hate the smell of fried food in the house. I control these two reasons by limiting his intake of these deliciously crunchy wonders and by frying them outside on the patio.
I had two FRIED OKRA break-throughs last summer: I found the absolute BEST recipe for fried okra – a Southern Living method that produces crunchy breading that stays ON the okra! The secret is cornstarch and a tiny bit of sugar. And, I read on a blog about okra “fingers.” I hate chasing little pieces of okra around a frying pan. This blogger sliced the pods length-ways and fried them up like that. Eureka! Okra fingers!
Slice okra length-ways to create okra “fingers.”
WHAT YOU NEED:
1 lb. fresh okra
¾ cup buttermilk*
1 ½ cups self-rising white cornmeal mix *
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
Vegetable oil
*MAKE YOUR OWN self-rising cornmeal mix:
1 ½ cups cornmeal
2 Tbl. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup + 1 Tbl. cornstarch
*MAKE YOUR OWN BUTTERMILK: to one cup of warmed milk add ONE of the following, stir, and let stand 5-10 minutes:
1 Tbl. lemon juice
1 Tbl. vinegar
1 ¾ Tbl. cream of tartar
WHAT YOU DO:
Slice okra length-ways and add to buttermilk; I used a pie plate.
okra soaking in buttermilk
Stir together cornmeal mix and next 3 ingredients in a separate pie plate.
Remove okra from buttermilk, in batches, using a slotted spoon, and dredge in cornmeal mixture. Shake off excess, and put on plate until ready to fry.
Dredge okra “fingers” in cornmeal mixture.
I use an electric skillet and vegetable oil heated to 375°. You could also use a cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven. I like to use the electric skillet so I can set up my frying station on the patio and keep the smell of fried food out of the house.
Pretty view while frying okra!
Fry okra, in batches, 4 minutes or until golden, turning once. Just like shrimp, the okra will stop sizzling when the moisture has cooked out, signaling that it’s time to get out of the frying pan!
Fry until golden brown!
Drain on paper towels. Salt lightly. Enjoy!
A CSA Culinary Experience 