Ode to a Vegetable

Humble southern vegetable,
your stem stubbed,
your tail curved and oh-so-thin,
your skin fuzzy like the Peach, your garden neighbor;
your seeds slick my knife with their sludge.

Fried up golden brown and crisp, or
thrown in a pot of gumbo.

Okra! How I love thee!

When I was a child, only you,
of all the vegetables,
ever merited seconds (and, when Mom made enough,
thirds.) At Grandma's, you arrived in a paper bag,
top crumpled to hide
its precious cargo,
fresh and dirty still from being pick'd.

Though you are a stranger still to some,
I greedily steal you from grocery shelves,
piling you in bag after bag to take home
and fry up.

I can never get enough.

"Fried" Okra

This barely qualifies as a recipe, and I don't actually deep-fry the okra (or even roll it in flour to coat it) - after all, I have my health to think of. But fried okra is all about the okra (and salt!) not about the fry, so it still tastes much like it did when my mother used to make it. It's made an addict of Mr. Food Musings.

2 TBSP vegetable oil
1/2 lb. okra, chopped
salt

1. Make sure everyone else in the house is either out for the night or asleep.
2. Heat oil over medium heat till hot but not smoking in a non-stick pan (or, if you want to be authentic, in your grandmother's blackened skillet that is never washed, only wiped out). Add okra and cook until somewhat softened on the inside, crispy on the outside, and darkened to a deep green, 10-15 minutes. Season with salt to taste and eat directly from the skillet.

Comments

[Tracie Broom]

This is how I make it! my relatives back home in South Carolina can't believe I don't fry my okra, nor can they believe how delicious it is when I make it!

But... I do salt and pepper my okra before I throw in the pan.

Yum!