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

Quick Seared Okra

Adapted from a Recipe by Love and Lemons at https://www.loveandlemons.com/okra-2/ 

I've never been a fan of okra - it always seemed to be slimy and fibrous.  But maybe I just hadn't had it prepared well.  Lately, my husband has become a fan, so we've had it at a few restaurants and it was good, so i experimented with it.  I was told that cooking okra whole can keep it from getting slimy, but that also doesn't allow you to check if some are fibrous.  This recipe hit the right notes with the nuts, jalapeño and tomatoes. The okra that seemed fibrous before they were cooked remained that way.  It seemed the larger ones were fibrous; the others were fine.  Next time, I'll either cut those into smaller pieces or discard them.  

I also simplified the tomato ingredient by using a small can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. 

It's quick, nutty, tangy and spicy.  A great side dish, especially if you're a novice with okra. 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 12 or so pieces okra, sliced in half
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• ½ jalapeño, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
• Small handful cherry tomatoes, cut in half (or 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, preferably fire roasted)
• ¼ cup sherry vinegar
• 
  
• Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When your pan is really hot, add the okra and sauté until it starts to turn brown. Add a few pinches of salt.
2. Add the shallots and jalapeños and sauté for 1 minute, turning down the heat as needed. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the walnuts and tomatoes, and toss to incorporate.
3. Deglaze the pan with the sherry vinegar, and reduce until it’s almost dry. Remove the pan from heat.  Enjoy!

Okra with potatoes and onions

From Aruna:

https://www.sanjanafeasts.co.uk/blog/2019/09/gujarati-style-okra-potatoes/

I was inspired to cook okra after seeing how nice the pods were at Oasis farm.  I dutifully picked some then left them in the field by accident.  The store bought ones probably aren't as good, but they'll do until the next trip to the farm.  

This is a recipe that Aruna recommended.  Seems like a good recipe but there are no measurements.  Cant really say what I used, but it tasted good in the end.  Maybe it doesn't matter?

Learned that using lemon juice keeps the okra from getting slimy - which is why I usually avoid it.  We'll have it for dinner tomorrow, but it seems good so far.  And it has potatoes - what more do I need to say?!

Substitute for asafetida is garlic or 1/2 garlic powder and 1/2 onion powder.  I used the latter.  There were several garlic cloves already in the recipe.