It’s the middle of July in Texas and temps have been over 100 for the last three weeks. While some crops might have slowed down, heat loving okra is just coming into season. When Paydon & Mariah told me that okra and garlic would be at the Acton Local Market today – I had to find a recipe. After a little searching, it seems that sauteed okra and garlic is a favorite!
Now… hold on. My first and really only experience with okra was in the late 80’s, early 90’s in Zimbabwe. Sitting around the table with sweet, well educated pastors and ministers who I loved; who in the course of lively, friendly conversation, all had strings of okra goop from their mouths to their plates. I was traumatized and pretty much swore off okra forever. Fast forward 30 years, and our Kitchen Manager, Tomika Elliott, at the Hood County Senior Center who cooks for 300+ every day, makes a mean braised okra & tomatoes. That had me agreeing to give okra another shot. Thankfully I did not find this recipe to be goopy at all!
Did you know that okra is actually a fruit?
It’s loaded in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory polyphenols, and some studies say the mucilage (gel) that many don’t care for, and which traumatized me in Africa, may bind with cholesterol during digestion and help you eliminate it in your stool. Okra is rich in magnesium, folate, fiber, antioxidants, and vitamin C, K1, and A.
This is so simple that it hardly seems fair to call it a recipe?
Tip #1: don’t skimp on the oil, if your pan gets dry your garlic will stick and burn
Tip #2: if you’re not already a super huge okra lover, I suggest cooking this al dente. For me leaving the okra a little firmer made me declare this a new favorite! I absolutely love how the sliced pods look like mille fiore.
Cut the ends off of about 1lb of fresh okra and slice into 1/2″ pieces
Mince 3 cloves of garlic
Heat about 1/4 cup of oil in a skillet (use a high heat, unrefined oil like avocado oil or gee)
Your favorite seasoning, I used Nature’s Seasons and a good dash of Redmond Fine Sea Salt and cracked pepper. (nope, Redmond’s did not pay for that mention, but hey lets talk! LOL).
Saute all together in the oil until just lightly browned.
I’m a total convert!! Fresh, local, healthy and from two of my favorite farmers – we will be making this often. Let me know in the comments your impression of okra and if you’ll give this a try. If you pick some up at the Farmers Market, make sure to say you got the idea from Hood County Fresh!
