Friends With Okra

About author / Victoria Wesseler

Healthy eating advocate; master gardener; local food expert. Even veggie haters love her recipes.

My husband and I entertain frequently in our home. Our invitations are generally met with a quick “yes” unless I tell our guests that we are including okra on the menu. Usually this information is followed by a long period of dead silence on the other end of the phone and then a revelation that they are not available that evening. “Oh, did you say this coming Sunday? Darn it, I just remembered that I have to wash the car that night. . . trim the dog’s nails. . . rearrange the flowerpots on the patio. . .”

And I completely understand. For years, I too was an okra avoider. Although I have read studies which claim that Brussels sprouts are the most disliked vegetable by Americans, my unofficial poll has okra at the top of that list among my friends. The sentiment is confirmed by my neighbor and friend, Liz Geeslin, who owns In Good Taste personal chef service. As a personal chef she keeps close tabs on her clients’ food preferences and says that okra always ends up on the “I don’t ever want to see that on my plate or in any food prepared for me” list for most of her clients.

Oddly enough, Liz and I were having this discussion at dinner one night where we and our husbands were literally inhaling hot steaming bowls full of my husband’s okra, chicken, and tomato stew over white rice. We concluded that most people don’t like okra because it’s a bit tricky to harvest and prepare. Done well, it can be delicious. Done poorly, it is horrible.

Okra is popular in the South where it is available year round. It’s a member of the hibiscus family and the large blossoms on the plant are very tropical looking and absolutely beautiful. The green (and sometimes red) okra pods have a ridged exterior and a tapered shape. We grow okra in our garden every year and it is generally ready to harvest in late August through the first frost. You have to be timely when harvesting okra. Pods have to be picked every other day and should never be more than 4 inches long. If you let the pods get any longer, they can be very tough.

When buying fresh okra, look for firm pods, no longer than 4 inches in length, with no bruises or cuts on them. You can store the uncut pods in a paper bag or wrapped in paper towels in a perforated plastic bag in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Although some people like okra raw or grilled, I like it best when cooked with other vegetables. It goes especially well with tomatoes, onions, corn, and bell peppers.

My husband pickles whole okra pods in a white vinegar brine with fresh garlic and dried hot peppers. He uses the smaller 1-2 inch ones instead of olives to garnish his martinis. A splash of the okra pickle juice in the drink creates what he calls the Dirtpatch Martini—a take off of the classic “dirty martini” which tastes a whole lot better than it sounds! For a quick snack, he wraps the slightly longer 3-4 inch pickled okra pods with thin slices of deli ham.

For many, okra’s biggest downside is the “slime.” Cut a pod of okra in half and you will get a mucilaginous substance that oozes from it. Now if the word mucilaginous doesn’t ruin your appetite, few things will. But it is a perfect description for the sticky substance that is the hallmark of the vegetable which acts as a thickening agent for gumbo and many other traditional southern dishes. In fact, “gumbo” is a derivation of the African word for okra.

While many highly value the thickening capabilities of okra, some prefer it without the goo. And that is easily achieved. When my husband makes his okra stew, he cuts the okra into ½ inch rounds and soaks them in a bowl of fresh lemon juice, salt, and cold water for an hour. When he removes the okra from the water, the slippery liquid drains out of the cut pods and into the bowl. This process leaves the okra crisp and tender in the finished dish.

The first time my husband told me he was going to make okra stew for dinner, I raced to the phone to speed dial the pizza delivery guy. But, he convinced me to try just one forkful and before I knew it, I was on my second helping. The okra, blended with the tomatoes and chicken, was delicious. It was nothing like the slimy, fibrous okra I once had that made me avoid the vegetable for years.

If you tend to shy away from okra, try my husband’s stew. He has turned quite a few okra avoiders into okra lovers with this dish. Who knows? Before long you might even be wishing for friends with okra!

Serves/Makes: 4

• 10 cups cold water
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 cups okra pods, fresh or frozen, ends removed and cut into 1/2 inch rounds*
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
• 6 boneless and skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 cup white onion, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cup low sodium or homemade chicken broth
• 4 cups canned diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups hot white rice