Last week when I went to the farmers market, I bought some okra. I used to grow it when I had a larger garden and I found myself suddenly craving some of the delicious fried nuggets. This is a dish I don't fix often, but I husband and I do love it. We've just cut down on fried foods; however, I do use okra in some soups that I make in the cooler months. If you've ever cut up some okra, you have found that it's rather, well, slimy on the inside! But this so called slime is what naturally thickens gumbo dishes and it works so well in my vegetable soup too. But some people can't get past this fact, so they don't give okra a chance! But it's delicious and has it's place in our kitchens. To begin, wash it well and dry with paper towels.
The okra pods should be no more than 4 inches long or so, or it will be tougher. Slice each pod into 1/2 inch pieces and drop into a bowl of buttermilk. With a slotted spoon, spoon out the okra and add to a bowl of cornmeal. Stir around with a fork and remove okra to a skillet and fry til golden. Drain on paper towels. Let okra cool a minute, them pop in your mouth and eat these crunchy bits of goodness! Did I mention that Fried Okra is very addictive? Really, it's more addictive than potato chips and yes, it is a vegetable, so I'll continue to fry them up, just not as often as I would like. If you haven't tried them, you need to!
Southern Fried Okra1 pound of okra
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup cornmeal, I use yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
oil, for frying
Wash okra and lay on paper towels to dry. Slice okra into about 1/2 inch slices. In a large bowl, add the buttermilk. In another bowl add the cornmeal, salt and pepper. Place sliced okra into the bowl with the buttermilk. Stir well to coat the okra. With a slotted spoon, transfer the okra to the bowl which contains the cornmeal, salt and pepper. You will need to do this in 2-3 batches. In a large skillet heat some oil, I use canola, over medium heat. I like the oil to be about 1/2 inch deep. When oil is hot, take a different slotted spoon and spoon out the cornmeal covered okra and shake it to loosen excess cornmeal, and then put into the hot oil. Let it fry for a few minutes, then stir around with a fork. It cooks fairly quickly so when all sides are golden, remove okra to a paper towel lined plate. You may have to do this in 2 batches. You may also use a deep fryer if you have one. Serve immediately and enjoy!
One note: I use less salt than a lot of people, so you may need to adjust the amount of salt in this recipe. If it's rather bland, then up the salt! Are you an okra lover, or an okra hater?
