Taste of Summer: Part IV

As mentioned last week, there was no Garden Club delivery this week to inspire our taste of summer series. Instead, we took a weekly trip to the farmer's market. I immediately reverted back to past behaviors and pretty much bought the vegetables and fruit I knew I loved.  They had porter peaches and these amazing small pears just like the ones we used to pick on one of our farms.  I have several of each daily and will have to buy more when the market reopens tomorrow.  I also, of course, bought even more okra.  I think, perhaps, I've had more okra this summer than I ever had since moving away from the farm.  Accordingly it only seems fair to share the Blakley fried okra recipe with you as it is nothing like what you've been eating in restaurants and so incredibly delicious.  This is definitely not my original recipe, but definitely a big part of our taste of summer.

Blakley Fried Okra.  

Ingredients:

This is vague as are all the recipes in my family, but here goes--- 

- Okra, cut into small slices 1/4-1/2 inch at the most. I prefer mine to be on the thinner side.  They get crispier and cook more quickly.  Discard the top portion (Note - if you have not purchased Okra previously, I recommend selecting the shorter, more tender pieces).

- 2 parts corn meal and one part flour -- so maybe 3 T cornmeal and 1 T flour - stir over sliced okra.  Alternatively, you can shake some cornbread mix over it for a slightly sweeter taste.

- salt and pepper to taste -- salt is key here.

- oil

Basically, the process goes like this -

 1) slice okra; 

2) stir with flour/cornmeal and salt mixture so that each piece has some along the edges;  

3) Heat skim of oil in a pan over medium to medium high heat 

4) Add okra to the hot pan - try to not add the bits of flour/cornmeal that did not adhere.  Also, do not crowd the pan, there should be some room between the pieces.  I usually fry mine in two batches.

5)  Let the okra sit for five minutes before stirring - this helps develop a nice brown crunchy surface.  You can see my helper is patiently watching to see how it is going while I'm doing other things.  Mostly I tell her to use her nose and let me know when she smells it or if she smells anything burning. 

6) Stir periodically and continue to cook until edges look brown and okra begins to crisp. Remove okra from the pan with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels.  Add the second batch to the pan and repeat.  As you can see here, the chef's prerogative is to eat/taste the first batch while the second cooks. Theoretically, it is to see if there is enough salt, but really cooking okra is hot work in the summer and it is too delicious to resist the fruits of your labor.  M happily joined in this tradition and has learned to love fried okra too. 

My siblings and I are crazy about this and can eat a pretty much unlimited quantity.  There is none of the thick batter you would have in restaurants and it is much more delicious.  Give it a try, it is a taste treat and definitely one of my tastes of summer.

Prior posts in this series are here:

• Part I - Featuring Zucchini
• Part II - Summer Beans
• Part III - Eggplant