When almost everything else in the garden has bid us adieu, the okra rises to perform another day. Texas temps of 108 degrees don’t faze the proud okra plant. It thumbs its nose at the mega-hot weather and sings on. Southern Living magazine again paid homage to Southerners’ devotion to okra and gave us one more okra idea that, to me, was a “must-try”. Nutty Okra intrigued because it involves adding 1/2 cup finely chopped dry-roasted peanuts. Never thought about this combination, but the magazine’s recipe punned that it was “anything but medi-okra!” What a hoot! It also recommends tossing the cut okra with salt (I used salt substitute) and letting it stand for 20 minutes. I didn’t have the prescribed peanut oil on hand and cooked the okra in canola oil; this didn’t seem to hurt the flavor, but I imagine using peanut oil for frying would make this taste even better.
The small bits of peanut pressed into the breading mixture represented a terrific, crunchy addition—yet another way to creatively present the summer’s luxuriant and thankfully drought-resistant okra, which never lets an abundance of heat stand in its way.
Nutty Okra
1 pound fresh okra, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)
1 egg white, lightly beaten (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
1 cup all-purpose baking mix
1/2 cup finely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
1/2 teaspoon pepper
peanut oil
Toss okra with salt and let stand 20 minutes. Add egg white; stir to coat. In a large bowl stir together baking mix and next two ingredients. Add okra and toss to coat; gently press peanut mixture onto okra. Shake off excess. In a Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet pour oil to a depth of 2 inches. Heat to 375 degrees. Fry okra in batches 2 to 4 minutes or until golden; drain on paper towels. Makes 4 servings.
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