This week we were very excited to see okra in our box from Avalon Acres, our CSA. Growing up, I hated okra. It was slimy and had a terrible texture. The only way I would eat it was fried, and even then half the time I’d just pull the breading off and eat that. My grandparents farmed and as a child I would stay with them often. I’ll never forget going to bed hungry on nights okra was served because of the whole “it’s this or nothin’” compassion of my grandmother. But now, as an adult, I love it! I have embraced the slime and have grown to love the taste and one of my favorite ways to eat it is in gumbo. Get the recipe and more photos after the jump.
Today we tried out “Good Eats” guru, Alton Brown’s recipe for shrimp gumbo, but modified it somewhat to our own tastes. Check it out, and if you make it, let me know in the comments. Also, if you have any awesome okra ideas, well, leave that in the comments as well. I love getting new recipes.
Shrimp & Smoked Sausage Gumbo
4 oz. vegetable oil
4 oz. all-purpose flour
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green peppers
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 diced tomatoes (the canned variety is fine, but fresh is better)
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp. hot sauce
1 quart chicken stock
2 cups raw okra, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 lb. smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and browned
1 lb. raw, tail-on shrimp (frozen shrimp is fine, just make sure it’s fully thawed)
prepared rice
filé powder and chopped parsley as garnish (optional)
Preheat oven to 350º F. Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 6-quart oven safe stock pot (a cast iron Dutch oven is preferred, but if you don’t have one, it’s ok.) and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.
While the roux bakes it’s the perfect time to do your prep work: chopping, dicing, mincing, etc.
Once the roux is done, carefully remove it from the oven and set over medium-high heat. Gently add the onions, green peppers and garlic and cook, moving constantly for 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, hot sauce and bay leaves and stir to combine. Gradually add the broth while whisking continually. Add okra, decrease the heat to low, cover and cook for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the shrimp and sausage and stir to combine. Serve over rice with a sprinkling of filé powder and chopped parsley.
8 Comments
Much of what I cook is heavily influenced by Alton Brown. He rules.
You said “after the jump.” you’re such a blogger.
yeah. the funny thing was, as we ate dinner, we watched his episode on red beans and rice which used all the same seasonings. it was a very strange dejavu.
I love okra SO MUCH and just got this recipe for roasted okra from a friend a couple of months ago. It is yummy and SO easy because there is no chopping.
Grease a dish with coconut oil (I use a glass casserole dish)
Place whole okra pieces in a single layer in the pan
Bake at 375 for 25 – 30 minutes until tender
Hold it by the stem and eat the okra. Toss the stem.
You can also steam it for 8 minutes, but I never do that because Rob hates it that way. He can’t deal with the slime.
We also fry it in Red Palm Oil in an iron skillet after we toss it in cornmeal. (The skillet is crucial to the recipe.) Red Palm Oil is SO good for you that it takes all the unhealthiness out of frying, and it adds a slightly different flavor to the okra. Very tropical.
Thanks for the gumbo recipe! I had no idea you could bake a roux. I have always wanted to make gumbo, but I’ve been scared off by the stories that you have to stand there and stir the roux forever and still it’s easy to ruin. I can’t WAIT to try this one! YUM.
P.S. Have you ever tried purple okra? We got some this summer from some local farmers, and it is yummy! It is even better than the green okra because it stays tender as it grows big. The giant ones are as tender as the tiny ones. They are especially good for roasting.
By the way, for the roasting recipe: if you use green okra, try to use the smaller, tender ones. The large ones are usually too tough for roasting and are hard to eat that way.
julie thanks for teh recipes! i’m gonna have to try roasting them next time we get some. i’ll certainly keep my eye out for purple okra. it seems to me that there is a purple variety of most any vegetable and its usually much better.
I wish with all my heart that you and Meg had the GALLONS of okra daddyman brings home in his ‘guess what I have’ buckets. I use okra in what we always called “Hattie Soup”. Meg will remember the soup and maybe barely her great-grand-mother — she was 12 when Granny died. The only thing granny allowed in her soup was 4 items.…..shredded cabbage, which she did by hand, thickly sliced okra so it would not disentagrate(SP?), corn and tomatoes that were finely chopped, also by hand. She seasoned it with bacon grease, but butter will do, salt and pepper. She always made homemade buttermilk biscuits to go with it and tea Meg loved — very strong lemon tea. She shredded and cooked the cabbage, maters, corn and okra all together. The only time she cooked any separately was if she had leftover corn in the fridge. Try grilling some of the larger pods with a bit of olive oil or whatever you prefer. I have done this recently in the oven as I can’t deal with dogs, doors and food on the porch. Great food work again!
This looks delicious! I too have only recently begun to appreciate okra, but my favorite way to eat it is still fried!
Yeah, Megan has already asked that we fry it next time we get some. I wanna try the roasting or grilling ideas too.