The Great Veggie Experiment: Okra!

I love all things New Orleans, as you know – so trying okra seemed like a no brainer.

okraraw

Okra is actually from the mallow family, which includes hibiscus and and cotton.  Who knew?  Okra is also called lady finger in some parts of the world, although not sure what lady has fingers that look like this.  Swamp lady, maybe?

I really, really wanted to batter and fry these (why is it that I have been wanting to fry things lately?).    But, I figured that was the easy way out to eat it LOL.  Instead, I just sprayed with some cooking spray, salt and pepper and roasted in the toaster oven for 15-20 minutes:

okra

They actually looked pretty good.  I then bit into one:

hmmmmm

Hmmm……  tried another bite and got a mucousy string.  I was expecting some sliminess, but I didn’t like it.  The taste was  good, kind of earthy and green.  A little like zuchinni, I thought.  It was the texture, and you all know how I can have a texture problem with my veggies.

So, I won’t be getting okra again to eat like this.  Might keep some on hand frozen for gumbo, since that gelatin is good for thickening.

14 thoughts on “The Great Veggie Experiment: Okra!

  1. Diane, Fit to the Finish

    My neighbor down the road just “gifted” me with a gigantic bag of okra. I was so excited when I saw you had done something with it other than fry it.

    Then, I saw your face. And I knew – I’m going to “gift” that bag to someone at church on Sunday!!

    1. Lori Post author

      I’m probably not someone to go on for how a veggie tastes LOL! I am a little picky. I think I know why so many people fry the okra, though.

  2. Susan

    Bahaha, that picture is hilarious!! I’ve never even heard of okra until I started reading blogs (is it a southern thing??). I did discover some at my grocery store though and want to try it! Just…maybe not in the toaster oven 😛

    1. Lori Post author

      It is a southern food, a very southern food. Being the Yank that I am, I never really thought about this stuff until watching Paula Deen LOL!

  3. Tena

    Love okra, but not when it’s slimey. Yuk.

    You might try slicing it, saute in a little olive oil (with onion and garlic if you like), then add some stewed tomatoes. I add some cayenne cause I like it hot.

  4. Karyn

    Hum. Was thinking of trying it since I have seen it lately in the grocery store here but, maybe not!

    I have a texture problem with my food also. It took until I was an adult to even be able to get down yogurt due to its texture. LOL. 🙂

  5. South Beach Steve

    As you know, I have had my share of okra lately, but it is not the typical variety. The okra I have had is German Okra, which is quite a bit bigger. It is also not as slimy. While I am not a fan of regular okra, I love the German Okra. Good luck finding it though.

  6. Marla

    Ugh. Okra is the only vegetable I don’t like. But a friend recently gave me this tip: rinse the okra in a collander. Don’t slice or cut the top off – she says that’s what makes the slime occur. Put the whole okra in a baking dish and toss with olive oil and salt & pepper, bake at about 350 – 400 until it’s VERY well done. That’s also the way I make broccoli, and it’s delicious, so maybe it will work for okra.

  7. Jan Davis

    Okra is indeed very Southern. Being a yank from Southern California I had to learn to cook it for my husband from Tennessee. We live in Tennessee now and I LOVE being a country wife! The only way southerners cook it is to fry it in meal, but lately there has been a trend toward baking it. I have to learn how to do that though.

  8. Patty Rueda

    The best way to cook it is with stewed tomatoes, and cook it for quite a while (okra tends to be woody). I’m sort of addicted to okra with tomatoes lately and eat it at least once a weel. Okra pickles are also delicious. Some people hate the seeds, but that’s what I like the best!

  9. Fireman Will

    Hello, Lori. Congrats on your weight loss success. I clicked on the okra first because that is one vegetable that always seems to get a strong love/hate response. lol
    I’m the cook at the fire station I work at and my sauteed okra is always a big hit, even from people that were intially concerned about the slime.
    It’s a simple recipe where I use 1 28oz can of good quality tomatoes, 1 small bag of frozen okra, 1 onion, chopped, minced garlic, pepper and salt to taste (sometimes I omit the salt). Sautee the onions with some cooking spray until translucent. Add the tomatoes until heated through. Add the okra, garlic and pepper, cover, and let it simmer for a few minutes (I do it until it’s defrosted and heated through).
    I’ll make brown rice cooked in low sodium natural chicken broth. The guys just put the okra mix over the rice and there is very little slime. I’m guessing the rice soaks up some of it.
    Congratulations, again, and continued luck on your journey. 🙂

  10. Katrina

    lol…I love peas! Any kind of peas, but especially field peas. Every once in a while Momma would throw a big handful of cut okra into the pea pot. Momma and Daddy just loved the combination, but the peas were ruined for me! You can’t get the nasty okra slim off the peas. What a waste of otherwise delicious peas!
    I do like okra pan fried (sauteed), deep fried or cooked in stewed tomatoes, soup or gumbo…yummy! I also tried pickled okra for the first time at a baby shower last weekend. It was wrapped in something I couldn’t identify, but I liked it. The okra was crunchy.

  11. Angela

    Hi, I know this is an old post, but if you slice the okra up and take a skilet with a little olive oil and natural seasoning then cook it for a couple hours stirring occasional. It is pretty good like that. You can add tomatoes to it if you like while cooking. Let know what you think. 🙂

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