{"id":17017,"date":"2021-03-01T10:00:23","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T15:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=17017"},"modified":"2021-02-17T14:37:54","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T19:37:54","slug":"okra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2021\/03\/01\/okra\/","title":{"rendered":"Okra!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD,\nRD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people shudder when you\nmention okra. They have visions of a vegetable that leaves slimy tracks across\nthe plate. They\u2019re not suffering from okra-phobia. They are just victims of\nimproper okra preparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Okra has been around for a long time and\nbeen loved. It can trace its roots to Ethiopia and Sudan. As early as the 13th\ncentury it was said to be growing along the Nile River. From Africa, okra\nreadily found its way to the Middle East where it is still served in a\ntraditional stew of okra, tomatoes, onions, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil.\nIn India you can enjoy okra in sabzi\nbhindi<\/em>, okra fried in oil with cumin and onions and seasoned with spices.\nIn the Caribbean, you can find many versions of callaloo<\/em>, a savory okra stew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Okra’s characteristic sticky stuff comes\nfrom a natural polysaccharide and acid combination. When okra is cut, it releases\nthese chemical compounds and makes an ideal, natural thickener. Okra is a great\nfood to thicken sauces or soups without using fat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Let\u2019s talk health. If you\u2019re looking to add more fiber\nin your diet, look to the small-but-mighty okra. A 1\/2-cup serving of steamed\nokra has 2 grams of fiber. Okra has lots of Vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C,\nVitamin K, and folate, and a decent amount of potassium and calcium. Who needs\nthe multivitamins? Just add some okra to your soup!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     If purchasing fresh okra, select smaller\nand plumper. Long, slender okra can be a bit tough and\/or dry. Fresh okra\nshould be prepared as closed to cooking as possible. Give a quick rinse, slice\noff the caps and then cook, either whole or sliced. If using frozen okra, do\nnot thaw prior to cooking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Okra can be steamed, braised, stir-fried,\nsaut\u00e9ed, or fried and served on its own or added to soups and stews. The key\nfor successful okra is to either \u201ccook it quick\u201d for a firm, non-gooey texture\nor to let it stew, releasing its nuanced flavor and thickening ability. Frozen,\nsliced okra can be easily added into rice, pasta, barley, couscous, or quinoa\nfor extra flavor, color, and crunch. Leftover cold okra can be tossed into\nsalads. There are no excuses not to add a little okra to your weekly routine!\nEnjoy this recipe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okra Creole Stew<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Serves 6-8)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 cups canned, drained chopped tomatoes
2 cups fresh okra, washed, stem ends trimmed off or frozen okra (thawed before cooking)
\u00bd cup diced onion
\u00bd cup diced red bell pepper
\u00bc cup diced green bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
\u00bc teaspoon dried cumin
\u00bc teaspoon dried thyme\u00a0
\u00bd teaspoon dried oregano
\u00bd teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste
2 cups vegetable stock or water <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combine\nall ingredients, except cornstarch and water, in a deep pot. Cook over high\nheat, stirring, for five minutes, or until okra is just tender. Cook for one\nadditional minute. Briskly stir cornstarch and water together to make a slurry,\nadd to pot, and continue to cook and stir until the stew is bubbly and thick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serve over fluffy steamed rice, corn bread, or baked\npotatoes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD Some people shudder when you mention okra. They have visions of a vegetable that leaves slimy tracks across the plate. They\u2019re not suffering from okra-phobia. They are just victims of improper okra preparation.      Okra has been around for a long time and been loved. It can trace its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17017"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17019,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17017\/revisions\/17019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}