okra? (stew)

okra? It was easy for bob to coast through half a life without ever encountering this oddly shaped green veggie. Which remains outside mainstream American food choices, although it is widely available. Mostly frozen in supermarkets, though. We get our occasional exposure at Isgouhi's table, although her oldest daughter is not a big fan. We first recorded this recipe in 1992 and then added some corrections in 2007. Now it is 2011 and we are not ripping out the new recipes very fast, so it's time to dust this one off and make it official.

Apparently the key thing to do with okra is to avoid slimy, which perhaps is an easily reached end state if you are not careful. Overcooking, not good at achieving this goal. The authentic way to go here is with lamb, the preferred meat of the Middle East. Making this a one pot meal.

ingredients

1 lb okra
1 lb meat (lamb or stew meat, lamb's neck is cheap and does the job)
1 lemon, juice of
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 or 5 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 lemon, juice of
1/4 t Middle Eastern allspice (just use the regular stuff)
1/4 t Middle Eastern red pepper (paprika with a hint of cayenne)
1/4 t black pepper (or to taste)
1 t salt (or to taste)
1/2 small can (6oz?) tomato paste
1 T (heaping) red pepper paste (if available)
1 T butter
.

instructions

  1. Clean the okra, removing their heads, and let sit in water with the juice of a lemon for about 10-15 minutes, then rinse in a colander.
  2. Cover the lamb meat with water and bring to a boil until the scum rises to the top, a few minutes. Then rinse. If instead you use stew meat, brown first in 1 T butter in the bottom of your pressure cooker.
  3. Add the chopped onion and sauté 1-2 minutes.
  4. Add the okra. Add the tomatoes and spices and tomato paste and lemon juice. Cover the okra with water, cover and bring to full steam.
  5. Pressure cook 1-2 minutes at full steam and release pressure.
  6. Serve.

notes

  1. Okra is a wierd pod like veggie.
  2. Illustrations available.
okra.htm: 31-jan-2011 [what, ME cook? © 1984 dr bob enterprises]