What about in a gumbo or pickled? I don't have a specific gumbo recipe as my roomie usually makes it and he refuses to use recipes. I think he generally uses chicken and sausage, sometimes shrimp at the end. Brown meats, then add onions & garlic, creole seasoning, salt and pepper, and makes a roux on top of that, add liquid (usually red wine) and veggies, taste and reseason as needed. Serve over rice.

For pickled try the book Small Batch Preserving or Joy of Pickling (not sure if it's in the first one but should be in the second). You can also check on the Harvest forum.

Hope this helps.

Saw Paula Deen on one of her shows do an Okra Fry Bread. I tried it and its really good. I don't know the link but basically you make a thin cornmeal and water batter and add thinly sliced okra to it. Drop by spoonfuls into hot grease and fry til crispy brown. Yummy. You could do a search on Food Network.
Murphy

Didn't Paula Deen at one time spread cream cheese on bread and then add a pickled okra on top, folded it over and ate it and went "yummy". I think I remember that one??

My mother has been making a wonderful vegetable stew for years, and often cans it. Her kids are in their 40's and 50's and we still fight over who gets jars of it to take home. You can also make a batch just to eat fresh. She recently told me her "secret" ingredient is okra - she says it thickens the soup. I've been eating it all of these years and never knew the okra was in it.

Here is her "formula" - it's always just a little different each time:

"main ingredients"
Canned tomatoes (chunks in juice)or fresh ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced, juice included
Carrots, sliced
Grean beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

"in smaller quantities" -
celery with leaves, chopped
corn off the cob
cabbage, sliced
onions, diced
okra, sliced
potatoes, diced

"good options"
any kind of dried cooked beans (big butter beans are great, she says)
rutabaga, diced
winter squash, diced

season with salt and pepper - cook until everything is tender - can add water, vegetable or chicken stock if it's too thick...

If she tells us she has vegetable stew and homemade bread, all of her kids are likely to show up for dinner!

seagrass

I make it oven fried all summer. Dredge sliced okra in seasoned 1/2 flour and stone ground cornmeal, and bake on a dark oiled pan turning a couple times until the way you like it.

Sometimes before dredging I coat it in oil, sometimes I spray the okra on the pan with Pam, sometimes I use bisquick...it's all about the same. On a dark pan, it takes about an 45-60 minutes at 375 to get crispy.

I just sautee a onion and add a can of tomatoes,season with salt and pepper, slice orka add and simmer until tender.Use as a side dish.

I absolutely adore okra! I eat it most every day during the summer when I can get it fresh from the garden. My favorite way to cook it is an adaptation from a Madhur Jaffrey cookbook. I don't really have exact amounts, but these are my estimates for a single serving (I had to adapt it - no one else in my household likes okra).

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 serrano pepper, sliced (jalapeno can be substituted)
1 cup sliced okra
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
salt to taste
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a heavy skillet. Add chopped onion and serrano. Cook for a few minutes while slicing okra. Add okra, turn heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Okra should get crispy brown.

Sprinkle okra with cumin, coriander, and salt to taste (I usually just eyeball it by lightly covering the surface of the okra with spice). Stir to coat okra with spices, turn heat to low, and cook another 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, stir, and cook an additional 2 minutes. Crispy, spicy okra without the deep frying!

Sandy

My favorite is Okra Parmesan, which does require frying before baking, but you cut the okra lengthwise instead of the short way.

I also like pickled okra, but I don't have a recipe for it. Here's my gumbo recipe.

Lars

Been baking okra for almost 30 years, using fresh or frozen!

BAKED OKRA AND CHEESE

2 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen whole okra, partially thawed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp. butter ***I never use butter
4 slices bacon, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

I never measure the amt of okra, just use a square pyrex dish, and spread out desired amt.
Place okra in a single layer in a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, dot with butter. Arrange bacon over okra and cover tightly with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. ****Usually done a lot sooner, just check for when okra becomes tender. Remove foil. Place under broiler until bacon is brown. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese melts!

I make this several times a year, using fresh okra during the summer and frozen whole okra at other times. I like it and even my husband enjoys it. He's on a low sodium diet, so my notes are included.

Smothered Okra & Tomatoes

4 slices bacon (I used 2 low sodium bacon slices)
1 cup sliced yellow onion
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (Angostura low sodium)
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
2 pounds sliced okra (I used frozen, whole okra)
Render bacon in a large saucepan, cooking until crisp. Remove from pan and dice, reserving drippings in pan. (I discarded bacon fat) Add onion to the skillet with bacon fat (I used olive oil) and sauté over medium heat until tender. Add all remaining ingredients, except okra, and bring to a boil, stirring to avoid burning. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add okra and let stew until the bright green color begins to fade. Serve hot.

Callaloo (my version)
Caribbean Crab, Okra and Spinach Soup

"Callaloo" is the leaf of the taro plant, also called "dasheen". Because taro leaves are rarely available in even our Latin markets, I use spinach leaves.

Ingredients:

1 pound spinach (use baby spinach or coarsely chopped regular spinach)
6 cups chicken stock
½ pound crab shell
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 bulbs shallots, sliced
¼ teaspoon thyme
1 whole serrano chile, chopped
4 ounces lean salt pork, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
½ pound crab meat
1 cup young okra, ORÂ
4 ounces packaged frozen okra, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot pepper sauce (e.g., Tabasco) or any other similar sauce, to taste

Directions:

Wash the spinach and, if large, coarsely chop.

Put the sliced okra into a large heavy saucepan with the chicken stock, crab shell (wrapped in cheese cloth), onion, garlic, shallots, thyme, and salt pork.

Cover and cook at a very gentle simmer until the pork is tender. About 1 hour.

Add the spinach and cook on low heat until very tender, about 10 to 20 minutes.

Add the crab meat, season to taste with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce and heat through.

Serve piping hot with slices of avocado and hot bread.

Joe

Unbelievable!!

I thought I was the only person in the world that really liked okra. It is what I consider the most necessary ingredient in my Gumbo.
When I fry fish, I fry breaded/seasoned okra in the same pan!

Sometimes I slice it about 1/2 inch long and roll it in cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper and eat it like candy. If you think this is stupid, just try it, AWESOME!!

We have a restaurant called Baja Burgers, that serves home sweet potato fries with fried okra mixed in when serving.

Joe, I've copied and pasted your recipe. I'll never find crab shells here and the crab will have to be frozen or canned, but it should be an edible facsimile of yours, hopefully.

The only time I've ever had okra was breaded and fried by my ex-MIL and I wasn't inclined to try it again. Elery insists that it's wonderful, so I'm game and I'm glad this thread is here....

Annie

Annie:

I've never seen crab shells for sale anywhere either.

I simply buy about a pound of frozen/thawed king crab legs and separate the shell from the meat. Easy.

Joe

oooooh okra recipes! (in winter?)

I think okra recipes ought to all mention whether or not the okra turns out slimy. Some people won't touch mucousy okra! It's especially nice in soups/stews. It's fun to watch my 2 year old pick out and eat all the okra seeds.

I like it. Trying to grow some as a perennial to see if that makes up for having no hot season here (not too optimistic). They don't carry it fresh in the grocery stores here that I've seen.

Anyone have guidelines for freezing homegrown okra?

I find fresh okra in the winter in my local Lebanese market, but I occasionally find it in other markets as well. It's available much more than just summer. Of course frozen okra is always available, and I will use that when I can't find fresh - it's almost as good.

Where I grew up in Texas all the cafeterias would always have fried okra - it was a staple. I don't see it as often here in California, but I always get it whenever it is available.

Lars

fori,

I usually just fill a ziplock bag with whole okra pods straight from the garden (no cleaning). Then when I want to use some, I pull out however many I need. Rinsing them off usually thaws them enough to slice and use. The texture isn't as good as fresh, I think, but it's not bad. I like it better than grocery-store frozen (though I use that pretty regularly in winter). Anyone else use a different method for freezing?

Sandy

Christmas day, I spur-of-the-moment invited a bunch of friends over and had to POOF. I had okra in the freezer and made Paula Deen's okra fry bread, posted towards the end of the linked thread.

I didn't read that it was supposed to be be fritter sized, I just made it in a cast iron skillet as a big 'frittata' and I had DH flip it (he flips better than I can). I also added some hot seasoning that Booberry sent me in a swap since the recipe seemed bland.

Surprisingly it was inhaled by my guests.

The only caveat is that after I stirred the okra into the batter, I read the bag....okra...from China. Grrrrr.

Here is a link that might be useful: okra recipes, paula deen's towards the middle/end

Well, now, Joe, why the heck didn't I think of that? I can't get crab legs here either, but I can get them just 30 miles away, in Big Rapids at the Meijer's. I'll watch for a sale!

Annie

Annie1992, If they have a Safeway grocery store in your area try calling them. I live in Maryland and I have been getting them for the last 4 months or so practically every week for $8.00 to $9.00 per lb on sale. However this past week they didn't have any. These were the large legs, not the skinny ones!!
Before anyone asks, no, they are King Crab Red, not Snow crab legs.
Trivia: There are 3 kinds of King Crabs, 1. Red (rated the best). 2. Blue (rated second). 3. Brown ( rated 3rd.).

I never thought I would be saying that $9.00 per lb is cheap, but around here normally go for $13 to 14.00 a lb! Ouch!!!

Thanks for the info on freezing. Seems pretty darn easy!

Now how to make it fruit when I don't seem to get enough heat? hmmmmm.....

Thanks to everyone. I'll be trying a lot of new okra dishes. I have one (1 gallon) ziplock bag of frozen okra left from last summer's crop. Note, I rinse & slice it before freezing.

I'm stunned Jambalaya's not here. My recipe doesn't use a lot of it, but its in there.

Jambalaya

This recipe an old boyfriend made for me. I broke up with him before I got the recipe. One of my sorority sisters was dating his brother. She got the recipe for me. A heck of a way to get a recipe! Serves 4.

Ingredients

12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 oz boneless, skinless chicken, diced
8 oz smoked ham, diced (Kielbasa or Andouie sausage also work well)
2 cups cooked rice
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
¼ cup each diced tomato, diced onion, diced celery, diced green pepper, and sliced okra
1 cup tomato juice (I like spicy V-8 or Bloody Mary mix instead)
1 cup stock, chicken, beef or seafood
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon gumbo file, optional

Melt the butter in a sauce pot and add vegetables. Sauté vegetables for a couple minutes and add seasonings. Add shrimp, chicken and ham and sauté until cooked. Add rice, stock, tomato juice and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in gumbo file to thicken and serve immediately.

Another follow up to freezing....I discovered that you can freeze fried okra. Just spread onto cookie sheet to freeze after frying and then put in freezer bags. When ready to eat, spread back onto cookie sheet and put in oven at about 375 for 10 to 15 min. It thaws and crisps like fresh made.
Murphy

One way to get rid of the "sliminess" of fresh okra is to blanch it for a couple of minutes before either cooking with it or freezing it.

I love okra, especially fried okra. Alton Brown's recipe for dried fried okra is very good, but I like the pieces cut 3/8" to 1/2".

Dry Fried Okra

1 pound okra, stems removed
1/2 cup cornmeal
Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
Rinse the whole okra pods under cold water, drain, pat dry, trim and cut into 1/4-inch pieces. Set aside.
Place the cornmeal in a plastic bag. Add the okra and shake to coat thoroughly. Return the okra to a dry colander and shake off excess cornmeal.
Add enough vegetable oil to a 12-inch stainless steel saute pan to completely cover the bottom of the pan. Place over medium-high heat and bring the oil to 370 degrees F. Add the okra and fry until golden brown on 1 side, approximately 5 to 6 minutes. Stirring occasionally, continue cooking until okra is golden brown on all sides, approximately 5 to 6 minutes longer. Remove the okra from the pan with a slotted spoon or spatula to a cooling rack set over a paper-lined sheet pan. Season, to taste, with salt and allow to cool for 1 to 2 minutes before serving.