Okra and Rice Casserole with Cajun Spice Mix - for lady docs book club

 https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/149221/cajun-spice-mix/

https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/okra-rice-casserole

Okra is delicious deep-fried, but more versatile than you think. The smaller pods are the most tender, so look for ones 3-4 inches long and refrigerate and cook within a few days. Okra "slime" naturally thickens stews and soups. The substance is released as you cut the pods, so we suggest cutting them into larger chunks, rather than thin slices. This dish is simple to make, but it packs an amazing amount of flavor from tender sautéed okra, sweet corn, Cajun spices, and buttery garlic breadcrumbs.  I made it a few days ago and froze it for Sunday book club - we’ll see how it goes! Tasted good right out of the oven.

By Southern Living Editors 

 

Published on January 8, 2019

Tried this in the wok and it came out well.  Increased the fire roasted tomatoes to 28 oz, only 2 cups of broth, added some Asian eggplant, which took a while to cook.  Left the okra whole.  Made sure to buy small ones, and all but one were edible.  The celery is really good, and used the full amount of Cajun spice, and dried fenugreek.  Didn’t use bread crumbs.  Served with ramen noodles or farro.  Overall, a better dinner than I expected.  And next day even better. 

Total Time:

 

1 hrs 10 mins

Yield:

 

Serves 8 (serving size: 1 1/2 to 2 cups)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons canola oil

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (can use whole wheat) - used millet flour

• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

• 1/2 cup chopped celery - essential

• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper - or not 

  Added 1 Asian eggplant

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 28 oz can diced tomatoes - preferably fire-roasted

• 3 cups vegetable broth

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh okra, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces

• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears) - 1 can drained

• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (see recipe below if you don’t have some)

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

  Added dried fenugreek

• 1/4 cup (2 oz.) salted butter, melted (used less)

• 2 garlic cloves, pressed

• 8 (1-inch-thick) French bread slices (used the Bullet to make the bread crumbs) - or panko

• 2 (8.5-oz.) pouches microwavable basmati rice (or just cook some stovetop) - used ramen noodles or farro

Directions

1. Use wok or preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Whisk together oil and flour in a Dutch oven; cook over medium-high, whisking, until mixture is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in onion, celery, bell pepper, and minced garlic, and cook, stirring, until vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes.

2. Stir in tomatoes, broth, okra, corn, Cajun seasoning, fenugreek and pepper, and bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine melted butter and pressed garlic. Brush both sides of French bread slices with garlic butter, and bake in preheated oven until lightly golden, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from oven, and process in a food processor until coarsely crumbled.

4. Squeeze rice pouches to separate grains. Tear a 2-inch vent in each pouch. Microwave both pouches at the same time at HIGH for 2 minutes. (The rice will be slightly undercooked.) Spoon into prepared baking dish. Top with okra mixture and breadcrumbs.

5. Bake in preheated oven until breadcrumbs are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes (it only took about 15 - so watch carefully). Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

   
   

Ingredients

• 2 ½ teaspoons paprika

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 ¼ teaspoons dried oregano

• 1 ¼ teaspoons dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (Optional) - did use some

1. Gather all ingredients. Mix together.  Store in an airtight container

African Peanut Stew

From the WSJ 5/2020  Adapted from Rachel Ama's Vegan Eats (Ebury Press)

This was very tasty and much thicker than a traditional stew.  Everyone liked it! And that was with forgetting to add all the toppings.


6 servings.

For the spice paste:
2 yellow onions, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
Thumb-size piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tsp chile powder
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground fenugreek
1/2 fresh red  Scotch bonnet chile (optional - not used)
Pinch of salt

For the stew: 
2 Tbsp oil, preferably peanut
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1  14 ounce can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1  14 ounce can of diced tomatoes
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces spinach, chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 fresh red chile, seeded and finely sliced.

Directions:
1) Make the spice paste:  combine all ingredients in a food processor and blitz into a coarse paste (don't be alarmed that this doesn't taste good).

2) Heat peanut oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium low heat.  Add spice paste and sauce stirring occasionally and adding a little more oil if it sticks to the pan, until lightly browned and fragrant, 10 minutes

3) Add sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas and tomato paste to saucepan, and mix to combine.  Stir in canned tomatoes, vegetable stock and peanut butter.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover pan with a lid and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until sweet potatoes are tender, 25 minutes.

4) Remove pan from heat and stern spinach, leaving it to wilt in pan, 5 minutes.  To finish, add lemon juice, taste and adjust seasoning.  Sprinkle cilantro, scallions and sliced smiles over the top and serve.