Rod Dreher

On What Really Matters in Church

View From Your Table

By Rod Dreher • July 19, 2012, 1:22 PM

St. Francisville, Louisiana

That’s me, eating my lunch, standing in my kitchen just now. I bought the okra an hour ago at the local farmer’s market, and cooked it down in a mix of Ethiopian spices (mostly ginger, cardamom, garlic, and red onion) I bought at Kalustyan’s last time I was in New York (you can mail order from them too). Delicious, for sure. Finished with Murray River sea salt, this beautiful pink-hued stuff some pals brought us back from their trip back to see their family in Australia. Stood there at the sink and ate it all up just now. Bliss.

Posted in View From Your Table. Tagged Louisiana, okra, St. Francisville.

14 Responses to View From Your Table

MH - Secular Misanthropist says:

July 19, 2012 at 1:35 pm

Man I love okra, especially fried, but it is good in gumbo too.
Roger C. says:

July 19, 2012 at 1:42 pm

And the thing I like about boiled okra is that it’s great to cook when you have a cold.

Nobody can tell if you accidentally sneezed into the pot.
Beyng says:

July 19, 2012 at 2:02 pm

Well, that’ll keep ya regular.
Rod Dreher says:

July 19, 2012 at 2:13 pm

Nobody can tell if you accidentally sneezed into the pot.

Disgusting! Hilarious!
Al-Dhariyat says:

July 19, 2012 at 4:01 pm

Oh that looks delicious! Did you stir-fry it or parboil then saute? Now I’m hungry.
evw says:

July 19, 2012 at 8:42 pm

Would that happen to be berbere? Nothing like it.
RealSheree says:

July 19, 2012 at 9:36 pm

Lovely. I’ve been “on” okra throughout the month of July.

Your approach is similar to mine, although I don’t use the same range of spices. I just use sea salt and blackpepper, toss in a small bit of locally-grown-and-ground organic cornmeal (McEwen & Sons in Wilsonville, AL) and then steam-fry. Texture ooks very similar.

I’m also a big fan of boiled okra and stewed okra and tomatoes, so I’ll alternate.

But nothing much better than steam-fried okra. I often have it as the main dish, along with a large plate of heirloom tomatoes from my backyard. My okra usually comes from my parents’ garden.

Enjoy!
Scott says:

July 19, 2012 at 10:44 pm

The butter beans are in now in Eastern North Carolina. They are delicious country style with both stewed and fried okra on top. Was at an Indian restaurant in Asheville a while back and their most popular appetizer is okra fried but with no breading. topped with sea salt and a squeeze of lime. awesome. also love the traditional bhindi dishes in Indian restaurants. But i know okra scares some people.
Chas says:

July 19, 2012 at 10:53 pm

Eating over the sink is the first step on a slippery slope that ends with eating out of cans under a bridge.

[add emoticon of your choice]
Rod Dreher says:

July 19, 2012 at 11:17 pm

Oh that looks delicious! Did you stir-fry it or parboil then saute? Now I’m hungry.

The way I usually prepare okra is to stir-fry it in olive oil for a little bit, with sliced onions, then chop up tomato in it, turn the heat down to low, and let it simmer in the tomato juices. No tomatoes today, and no onion either. I just did the olive oil saute, put a little water in the skillet, then sea salt and, yes, berber spice blend, and let it simmer until good and tender and slimy.
alcogito says:

July 20, 2012 at 12:53 am

Totally unfamiliar to this Northwesterner. Have never consciously eaten it or ever seen it in a grocery store. I did see some come out of a can once and it looked so slimy that I steered clear. What does it taste like?
NOLA Gian says:

July 20, 2012 at 11:24 am

It’s the slime I can’t get past, so I eat my okra fried.
what’s steam-fried? Does it eliminate the slime factor?
When it comes to gumbo, I prefer filé gumbo.
Franklin Evans says:

July 21, 2012 at 10:51 am

Rod, I’m loving this recurrent post. This one gives me the opportunity to sing the praises of the Sodexho-managed cafeteria at work. They cook all of their offerings on-site, and very well for such a mass operation. Soups, salad bar of major proportion, the usual sandwich and grill offerings (very conscious of healthy alternatives) and last week one entree was batter-fried cod with Johnnie cakes and an okra and tomato side.

If I ever master the phone-camera and upload thing, I’ll be sending my own contribution.
Jeremy says:

July 22, 2012 at 2:40 pm

Oh man, this is the best view from your table yet. You can’t get okra where I live in the northeast. I feel very envious right now.