It’s August here in the
Many people shy away from cooking and/or eating okra because
it can be unappealingly slimy if it’s not prepared correctly. Despite its
reputation, okra can be incredibly delicious and super healthy. It’s low
in calories. One cup of raw okra has only 33 calories, and that serving size is
packed with a whopping 66% of the RDA of Vitamin K. Okra is also high
is calcium, fiber, vitamin C, protein, folate, manganese, and magnesium. I
think that makes okra a super-food veggie!
Come on now. Don’t wrinkle up your nose like that. Try it! I
roasted this okra and it turned out delicious.
Roasted Okra
1 pound fresh okra, washed, dried, and stem ends removed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 400°F (for my European friends that's 200°C, or Gas Mark 6).
2. In a large bowl, coat the okra evenly with the olive oil.
Spread okra out in a single layer on your oven’s broiling pan. Season with salt
and pepper.
3. Roast for 15-20 minutes, or until the ends of the okra
are slightly golden.
Enjoy!
Do you shop at local farmers markets? What’s YOUR favorite
fresh veggie? Feel free to share the recipe in the comment section below.
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About the author: Donna Fasano is a USA Today Bestselling
Author who has written over 30 romance and women’s fiction titles. Her books have won awards, have been translated into nearly two dozen languages, and have sold four million copies worldwide. To learn more about Donna, visit her blog, or find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Are you an avid romance
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Sounds yum! I'll be trying this one. Thanks for sharing, Donna :) xx
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Sibel! I know you have published several cookbooks. I own them! :)
DeleteI have never eaten okra. It's not a huge thing here in Wisconsin. ;) Maybe if I see some at the farmer's market, I'll give this recipe a try.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing to buy at a farmer's market is fresh green beans and I don't do a thing to them except wash them. I love them raw! When I was a kid, my friend and I would sneak into neighbor's gardens and snag a handful at this time of year, then eat them. We never thought to wash them, so I wonder how many little bugs I ate at the same time? (It was dark when we'd go on our bean hunting missions)
I've never tried green beans raw, Mary. I usually stir fry them in olive oil with a little garlic. I love them! I, too, used to "eat from the garden." My friend's mother planted a huge garden and she let us have free reign. So I probably ate my share of bugs too. :)
DeleteThis sounds good, Donna. I'm going to try it. Having been raised by a couple of southerners, fried okra is the taste of summer to me, though this looks healthier than the breaded-in-cornmeal version I'm used to.
ReplyDelete*whispers* Whenever I go to Cracker Barrel, I always order the fried okra. Mmmm! :)
DeleteCan you believe I've never tried okra? I do love your books, though.
ReplyDeleteLia, I love you for loving my books. :) Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteI remember okra in canned vegetable soup. But I am determined to try this. I have tried your other recipes and loved them. Especially the Scotch eggs. :)
ReplyDeleteI remember that too, Barbara. I hope you like the roasted okra. (And I'm glad you liked the Scotch Eggs.)
DeleteI first had okra in Greece many years ago on holiday and hated it. You make it sound so good, Donna, that I think I'll try it again!
ReplyDeleteWhen raw okra is chopped it becomes slimy. The sticky substance is called mucilage and it's the same sort of thing that comes from the aloe vera plant. Cooking okra whole keeps the slime away. :)
DeleteI love okra! We don't get enough of it in our area, but I grew up in the south so it was always on our table. I don't find cooking or baking relaxing at all, but I do it for my family. I find baking more tedious than cooking so baking is done less often. Yesterday I made a batch of gluten free molasses cookies for my daughter. I loved how they turned out! http://www.food.com/recipe/soft-molasses-cookies-63981 I just substituted all purpose flour with garbanzo bean flour and used 1/2 a tsp of salt instead of 1 tsp. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI love molasses cookies!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
DeleteI might have to try this one, Donna. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Christy. Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteIt's been years since I've had okra. It was breaded and deep fried. So probably not as healthy as yours.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a very simple recipe Donna, my son loves okra too. We call it Bhindi here and he likes it sautéed with some garlic and onion along with spices such as turmeric, cumin, and coriander powder.
ReplyDelete