Okra Recipes

An often-neglected but southern US favorite, okra was introduced to North America more than three centuries ago by African slaves. Okra can be served raw, marinated in salads or cooked on its own, and goes well with tomatoes, onions, corn, peppers and eggplant. In fact, its mild flavour is sometimes compared to eggplant, though the texture is somewhat unusual. You will find many recipes for okra, including the creole classic, chicken gumbo, originally from western Africa, and close cousin of the North African ganaouïa, or Tajine aux gombos.

Broiled Tomato, Corn and Okra – 13/08/2010

We suggest an easier recipe from Just Vegetable Recipes (www.justvegetablerecipes.com - 22,702 vegetable recipes to browse (at last count)). It combines okra with two other seasonal partners – fresh tomatoes and corn.

  • 2 medium vine-ripened tomatoes; halved and cut into 14-inch-thick slices
  • 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (cut from 1 ear of corn)
  • 1/4 lb okra, trimmed and sliced 1/2 inch thick
  • 1 tbsp shredded fresh basil leaves
  1. Preheat broiler.
  2. Arrange tomatoes on a lightly greased jelly-roll pan and brush with 1 tbsp oil. Season with salt and pepper and broil about 4 inches from heat 5 minutes.
  3. In a bowl, toss together corn, okra, remaining 1/2 tbsp oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Spread corn and okra evenly on pan with tomatoes and broil about 4 inches from until tender, about 5 minutes.
  5. In a bowl, toss vegetables gently with basil.

Serves 2