That’s the most common statement out of the mouth of a
non-Southerner when they first see the magnificent green vegetable we call okra. It’s a crying shame they didn’t
have the opportunity to grow up eating it as we all did. It is some kind of goodness fried and crunchy,
I tell you! But it’s a mess to cook if
you’re world is as busy as mine. I don’t
have time for battering and frying anything, not even Okra. So when my beloved “G” emailed me this hot
tip, I jumped on it fast! And le’me tell
ya! Yum…mee! So if you’ve had fried okra and loved it or
you've never even heard of it, give this quick, easy, and healthier version a
try sometime. I guarantee (pronounced gay-rone-tea)
it will amaze you. And you won’t miss
the batter, at all!
Ingredients
Okra, sliced in 1/2" pieces (I use frozen, but I bet
fresh is even better!)
Olive Oil, just enough to lightly coat
Salt and Pepper
Preheat the oven to 375.
Place the okra in a bowl and sprinkle it with the remaining
ingredients. Toss to coat. Spread out evenly on a foil lined baking sheet
or a stone like I use. Bake for about
15-20 minutes. Voila! That’s it!
Dish it up and enjoy!
Lagniappe:
- When I make this and it’s time to pull it out of the oven, it always grosses me out to see that it’s still a little slimy. No worries though…once it’s out of the oven and you serve it up, it’s fine. There’s no slime at all, promise! My kids fight over this stuff and they wouldn’t touch anything remotely slimy…ever. Because you know, it might mess up their nails or something!
- When I make Gumbo I always “fry” or “sweat” out
the slime from my okra before adding it to the pot of gum-yum. I just never like to have that goo in
there. And it’s a little time consuming
when you’re making a big ol’ pot of deliciousness for a crowd. However, you can bet your bottom dollar that
I’ll be “sweating” out the goo by way of the oven from now on! Yesirree! Can you say Gumbeaux?
I've never battered my okra; I simply dust it with cornmeal and salt. Battered okra is . . . well, I just don't understand it. BTW - you can freeze fresh okra by cutting it, dusting with cornmeal, and lightly frying it. Then put in freezer bags, and when you want to have okra during the winter, simply salt it and complete the frying. It's like fresh okra. Yum!
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, we always dusted it with salt and meal, too. But commercial foods introduced the battered kind to my kids and they didn't like the mealed version after that. They like the naked kind just fine though! lol Thanks for the freezer tips, Maven Linda. I'll definitely give that a try. :D
DeleteI love fried okra. Never really tried it until we settled in the south. LTC grew up on it. We've grown it in our garden too. I've canned it before and it tasted just grand after opening the bell jar and frying it the normal way. Too bad I've got no time for canning now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe, Lesia!!!!
Wow! Really? I never would've thought of frying it after it was canned. I'm glad that worked for you! Canning is one of those things I left in Louisiana. I can do it, but unless I have to, I'm not gonna. Now if I could get some mayhaws I'd be making some Mayhaw Jelly for sure! But that's a whole other subject there. Y'all probably don't know what mayhaws are, do you...?
DeleteHappy canning, Kathy!
Or should I say...
DeleteHappy-writing-with-no-more-time-for-canning, Kathy! lol :D
I have a mess of okra I going to fry up tonight for some friends. Like Maven Linda and Lesia I just dust and fry.
ReplyDeleteTonight I even have fresh tomatoes to go with it!
I am going to try this oven method ASAP. It sounds yummy! I wonder if you could coat it with olive oil cooking spray to make it even more healthy? Hmmmm, may have to give that a try!
I don't know why you couldn't Stephanie. Though really, I only used about 1T of olive oil for an extra large bag of frozen okra. Just remind yourself you're getting those Omega 3s and enjoy! Let me know if the spray works!
ReplyDelete