Okra Recipes – Alphabet of Vegetables

Never know what to make with okra? how to cook okra? Find inspiration in this collection of seasonal Okra Recipes ♥ AVeggieVenture.com, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special. Many Weight Watchers, vegan, gluten-free, low-carb, paleo, whole30 recipes.
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So I took a little poll about okra on Facebook today and was much shocked, I mean excited to discover so many fellow okra fans, not scientific or anything but still! I'm a recent convert myself: when Susan from Fat Free Vegan wrote a guest post here in 1996 for Chickpea Gumbo, I commented, not so wittily, that "... now maybe A Veggie Venture won't have to cook any of those slimy guys". Was I ever missing out, eating okra fresh from the garden makes such a difference!

OKRA: THE BASICS
Pronounced [OH-kruh]. Also called Lady's Fingers, for the bright green finger-shaped tapered seedpods.

The Season. In the Midwest, the okra season is "late summer" when home gardens spit out okra like bullets. In the South, fresh okra is available year round. Good news, however, frozen okra is excellent, although best used in dishes where the okra itself isn't the star. How to Select Okra. Okra is best eaten with a few hours (best) or days (okay) of picking so is best purchased from a farmers market or farmstand. For tenderness, look for okra no more than four inches long, though some times longer but very fresh okra are tender as well. For freshness, select okra with no dark spots and fresh-looking stem ends. A quick test for freshness? Try to bend the delicate tip of an okra, if it breaks off, it's fresh; if it bends but doesn't break, it's less fresh. Okra in the Garden. It's also easy to grow okra at home, it loves heat and needs plenty of water. So Pretty! Okra are quite beautiful, be sure to examine one close up! (Or check this cross-section close-up on Flickr.) The Slime Factor. Some people object to the "mucilage" that spills out of some okra when it's sliced. In fact, that slimy goo is the thickener in the classic Cajun dish called "gumbo". To avoid it, purchase young, very fresh okra which have little goo, otherwise avoid cutting into the seedpods or try using frozen okra. The Spine Factor. Some people are allergic to the tiny often hair-like spines on okra seedpods, gloves are recommended or touch only the stem end, not the seedpod itself. Natural Pairings. Okra work especially well with other late-summer vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and corn. Sources. Personal experience and accumulated learning, also the most-wonderful On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee, Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka and The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg.

OKRA NUTRITION INFORMATION

What's your favorite okra recipe? or what okra recipe did you hope to find here? I'm always looking for new ones, especially healthy okra recipes. Leave me a quick note in the comments! ~Alanna



HEY OKRA LOVERS! WHAT SOUNDS GOOD?
~ A Few Highlights ~


OKRA: BASIC TIPS & TECHNIQUES
HOW TO TRIM OKRA If cooking whole okra, cut off the tough stems but do leave a thin slice of the 'cap' which is tender and succulent and helps hold in the okra flavor and moisture.
How to roast okra (aka Roasted Okra "Fries")
How to fry okra (aka Fried Okra "Popcorn")

CLASSIC RECIPES for Okra
Kitchen Parade recipes
Gumbo

NEW to Okra? TRY THESE FIRST
A Veggie Venture recipes
Potato Okra Curry
Sautéed Okra & Garlic

PERSONAL FAVORITES
Kitchen Parade recipes
Fish with Roasted Okra "Fries" & Tomato-Fennel Salad
Summer Seafood Chowder

A Veggie Venture recipes
Armenian Vegetable Stew
Skillet Stewed Tomatoes & Okra
Summer Vegetable Curry
Warm Tomato, Corn & Okra Salad



OKRA SPECIALTIES


JUST Okra, NO MORE
Kitchen Parade recipes
Roasted Okra "Fries"
Fried Okra "Popcorn"

A Veggie Venture recipes
Sautéed Okra & Garlic 5min/10min – WW1 – NetCarb5

RAW Okra Recipes
No recipes yet, this is my reminder!

PICKLED Okra Recipes
No recipes yet, this is my reminder!



OKRA in EVERY COURSE
~ Even Breakfast! Even Dessert! ~

Just.Kidding.About.Dessert

Okra for BREAKFAST
No recipes yet, this is my reminder!

Okra in APPETIZERS
No recipes yet, this is my reminder!

Okra in SALADS
No recipes yet, this is my reminder!

Okra in HOT SIDE DISHES
Kitchen Parade recipes
Quick Supper: Cornmeal Catfish with Warm Potato Salad
Tourlou Tourlou (Greek Baked Vegetables)

A Veggie Venture recipes
Southern Farm Stand Stew with Okra, Tomatoes & Sweet Corn 30min/40min – WW2 – PP3 – NetCarb15
Potato Okra Curry 20min/20min – WW1 – NetCarb10
Sautéed Okra & Garlic 5min/10min – WW1 – NetCarb5
Skillet Stewed Tomatoes & Okra 25min/50min – WW1 – PP2 – NetCarb9
Summer Vegetable Curry 40min/60min – WW2 – PP3 – NetCarb14
Warm Tomato, Corn & Okra Salad 15min/20min – WW2 – PP4 – NetCarb18

Okra in SOUP
A Veggie Venture recipes
Summer's Best Corn Chowder 50min/3hrs – WW2 – PP4 – NetCarb20
Vegan Chickpea Gumbo 30min/60min – WW.5/2 – PP1/2 – NetCarb3

Okra in SANDWICHES, WRAPS & MORE
No recipes yet, this is my reminder!

Okra in MAIN DISHES
Kitchen Parade recipes
Black Beans & Rice Skillet Casserole with Smoked Chicken
Fish with Roasted Okra "Fries" & Tomato-Fennel Salad
Old-Fashioned Southern Brunswick Stew
Steak & Tomatoes
Summer Seafood Chowder

A Veggie Venture recipes
Armenian Vegetable Stew 45min/24hrs – WW1 – PP1 – NetCarb7
Potato Okra Curry 20min/20min – WW1 – NetCarb10
Summer Vegetable Curry 40min/60min – WW2 – PP3 – NetCarb14
Hurricane Rice 25min/25min – WW8

Okra in SWEETS & BAKING
No recipes yet, this is my reminder!



MOVING BEYOND THE STOVE & OVEN


Okra on the GRILL
No recipes yet, this is my reminder!

Okra in the MICROWAVE
No recipes yet, this is my reminder!

Okra in the SLOW COOKER
No recipes yet, this is my reminder!



A Veggie Venture is home of okra lover and 'veggie evangelist' Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.
© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2005 – 2018




Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. Myrna, West Palm BeachAugust 27, 2012

    Having read about Okra I think I shall have to try some as soon as I see it in the market. Up to now, the only way I have eated okra is batter dipped and fried. That is not the healthiest, I know.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was out of okra when I made seafood gumbo last year. I ended up using frozen okra from the store since it was out of season. I learned a great lesson in doing this. Many people object to okra in gumbo because of its appearance and "eyes" from the seeds. This is not a problem any longer, I took the frozen gumbo and put the whole pods in my Ninja blender. I ground it into a powder. I then used the powder just as I would use fresh. My husband preferred this method.

    In case someone doesn't know why okra is added to gumbo, it thickens it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. How bout just good ole fashioned fried okra? How do you make that? Mine always turns out slimy. Thanks. KAT

    ReplyDelete

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna