Crazy Easy Okra Three Ways without the Slime

Okra is way too easy to hate, which isn’t fair because there’s so much to love! It says “summertime” almost as ringingly as the tomato sandwich. But it’s okra’s slime that turns people off. I get it. And I’ve been one of those people.

Then I started growing it, and gosh darn if I didn’t develop a kind of awe for the thing.  For one, it’s perfectly beautiful out there in the garden. Turns out, okra’s related to hibiscus. Also to cocoa. (Now we’re talkin’.) Okra shoots up out of the ground with little or no coaxing from a pleasingly spherical seed and grows without apology to tower over even my tallest human acquaintances. Inspiring.  Here’s a picture taken with me reaching my camera as high as I can. Still it’s way up in the sky-blue, er, sky.

Once okra starts producing, you’ve got to pay attention. Those pods mature from flower to tasty treat in a matter of two to three days. I kid you not. A couple weeks ago, I went away for two days. When I came back, thumbnail sized pods were tough batons nearly a foot long. I exaggerate. But they did get big – too big and tough to prepare as I do here. (More on what to do with those – seed roasting experiment! – in another post.)

This is a great way to fix fresh okra that’s less than, say, about five inches long. It’s easy, AND you can eat it with your fingers! – double plus bonus.

Get a pan nice and hot. You can do this on a stove, grill, or in an oven. I used cast iron on the grill because even at 7 o’clock it was still over 85 degrees outside. No way I’m going to heat up the kitchen, too. (Eco-points: if you’ve got a.c., you’re not using energy both to heat and to cool simultaneously.)

Add some fat – enough at least to cover the bottom of your pan. More is delicious. Use a vegetable oil, and the whole dish can be vegan. I happened to have pork fat in the fridge left over from a months-ago braise. I used a good dollop of that.

Then, simply toss in your (washed) okra pods, whole and untrimmed. It’s nice if they’re not stacked on top of each other, but not a big deal if you have more than simply covers the pan. Toss them around to coat with fat.

After a little while, toss/stir again. I like to get them brown and blistered.

When they’re cooked to your liking (mine took about seven minutes total over pretty high heat – don’t worry about precision), dump them out onto a serving plate.

Sprinkle with salt, and dig in. I let them cool a little, then picked up by the stem end and ate until I couldn’t eat any more.

I had some left over. Turns out, they’re great reheated. In one case, I put them back in the pan and added half a can of leftover black beans, drained, along with another dollop of pork fat. Wow, the beans got super meaty and delicious! I’m definitely doing that again. Here’s a pic with cider vinegar for dipping. yummy, but not necessary.

In another case, I had some extra cooked ground pork (we’re lucky to have a couple local happy-forest-fed-heritage-pigs hot line). Along with rice from dinner the night before and fresh-picked cheery tomatoes (nearly as prolific as okra – don’t say I didn’t warn you!), it made a superb breakfast. With or without a fried egg on top, you’re good til even a late lunch.