Okra Season: How I Stopped Apologizing for the Slime

For years I served okra with an apology. "I know some people don't care for it," I'd say, setting the bowl down, already halfway to taking it back. Then one August my friend Marguerite, who grew up in Louisiana, told me to stop it. "You're telling them it's bad before they've tasted it," she said. "Cook it right and shut up about it."

She was right, and okra has since become one of my favorite things to cook in late summer. The slime, which is what everyone complains about, is either your friend or something you can work around, depending on how you cook it.

Buy small pods

The single biggest difference is the size of the pods. Okra grows fast in the heat, and a pod that was perfect on Monday can be woody and tough by Wednesday. I buy pods no longer than my finger, bright green, that snap cleanly when you bend the tip. Big ones are for seeds, not supper.

Fried, the way to convert anyone

This is the one that wins over the doubters. Slice the okra into rounds about half an inch thick. Toss them in a bowl with a little buttermilk, then in a mixture of cornmeal, a bit of flour, salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Fry them in an inch of hot oil in a cast iron skillet until they are deep golden, three or four minutes. Drain on a paper sack and salt them right away.

They come out crisp and nutty, almost like popcorn. I have watched a grown man who swore he hated okra eat a whole bowl of these in front of the television.

Stewed with tomatoes

Here the slime is the point. It thickens the stew. Cook bacon in a heavy pot, take it out, soften an onion in the fat, then add sliced okra, a big can of tomatoes or a few pounds of fresh ones, a little sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer for half an hour. It goes silky and rich, and it's wonderful over rice or with cornbread.

Pickled

Pickled okra is what I give away in jars at Christmas. Pack whole small pods tightly into clean jars with a clove of garlic, a few peppercorns, a dried chili and a sprig of dill. Pour over hot brine made of equal parts white vinegar and water with a little salt. The pods stay crunchy and the pickling keeps the inside from going slick.

Roasted whole

The simplest of all. Toss whole pods in olive oil and salt, spread them on a hot sheet pan in one layer, and roast at 450 degrees for about fifteen minutes, turning once. They char at the tips and stay tender inside. Squeeze lemon over them and eat them with your fingers.

No more apologies

Last month I put a platter of fried okra on the table at a family supper and said nothing. It was gone before the chicken. My great-nephew, who is nine and suspicious of anything green, asked for the recipe.

I didn't apologize. I just wrote it down for him.