I bought some raw baby okra?!
Answers: yes..I know....what did I do that for? how do I cook it...or do you eat it raw in a salad..............I bought it because I was buying a lot of fruit and vegie's...........and I bought the okra on a whim...........now I don't know what to do with it?
Raw preparation
Okra can be eaten raw when marinated with other vegetables for several days. Okra should be rinsed and patted dry before using.
Cooking
Okra is used in soups and stews as its gummy insides work as a thickening agent. Its most popular use is in the Creole dish, gumbo. Okra can also be steamed until tender or dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and deep-fried. It can also be pickled.
Baking
Okra can be cut into strips and baked or baked whole. Baking dries up much of the gooeyness inside the okra. Bake until the top of the okra is golden brown.
Enjoy it!!!
*LO
cook it in a soup broth
you can eat it plain in salads for interesting texture or you can make a simple batter and fry it.
you can also get some tomatos and stew the okra with the tomato and add some shrimp and spices for gumbo!!
Slice it up, soak it in buttermilk then toss it in a flour/cornmeal mixture and fry it up. This is best known as Southern Popcorn.
you can also cut it up and roll in cornmeal and fry-they come out crunchy.
Okra with Tomato Sauce
1 pound fresh baby okra, washed, dried, stem ends trimmed very close to top, or use frozen thawed whole baby okra
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, diced, or 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon lemon juice
dash salt and pepper
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté the okra for 3 to 5 minutes, then remove with slotted spoon to paper towels. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the saucepan. When hot, add the chopped onion; sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another 2 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and stir together until the mixture boils. Turn down to a simmer, add the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes longer. To serve spoon about a few tablespoons of sauce into a serving dish. Top with the okra then cover with remaining sauce. Serves 4 to 6.
Slice it up, toss it in some cornmeal, and fry until golden brown. Or, you could always slice it up and add it to some gumbo. Try searching on AllRecipes.com in the ingredient search for some recipes with okra if you do not like fried okra or gumbo. I have posted the link for the page.
I like it just boiled with a little bacon or ham for seasoning. It gets kind of slimy though, and that disgusts some people.
There are so many ways to enjoy it. It's really good. The most important thing to remember is this: If you use it in any kind of soup or stew, add it at the end of the cooking process & as soon as you do, cover your pot & do not remove it until the okra has had a chance to completely cook. Depending on the temp of your soup, this could be anywhere from 15-30 minutes.
If not properly prepared, okra can become really slimy when boiled. I don't know how or why this works, but this trick completely eliminates the slime. Some people add vinegar. This works also, but I don't always want that flavor in my dish.
Quick veggie stew
1/2 lb. salt pork or bacon
1/2 to 1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 can whole tomatoes
1 can tomato puree
1 box frozen corn
1 box frozen baby lima beans
2 boxes frozen cut okra
Wash salt pork if used, cut salt pork or bacon into pieces, brown in pot with an extra 2 tablespoons of fat or oil.
Add onions, green pepper and celery. Saute until done, don't overcook. Add tomatoes and puree. When it starts cooking, turn down heat. Season to taste with Accent, salt, pepper, dash of sugar and a small amount of red cayenne pepper.
Add lima beans, corn and okra. Cook about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve over hot rice. Goes well with meat, fish, poultry dishes.
If limas and corn are fresh, add limas first and cook a while then add others.