My childhood summers in southeast Texas were blessed with an abundance of garden fresh okra. There could be a lot of it, so it demanded some creativity to use it up. Of course you can bread it with cornmeal and (air!) fry it or pickle it (wow), but these recipes ideas are faster and healthier:
Boil it! This is the method that creates soft, slimy okra that most folks can't stand. There are many that love it, though, and I count myself among them. Tammy Nichols from Collard Valley Cooks shows you how, but it's simple: cover with water, add salt & pepper, and boil. The helpful part of the video, I think, it that at the end she shows you what the finished result should look like, though some folks will stop boiling as soon as the okra reaches "fork tender".
Roast it! Just as easy as boiling, this method adds the crispy and takes away the slimy. I'd recommend the following: toss with avocado oil, sprinkle on salt & pepper, and roast (on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper) at 450F for about 10 -15 minutes. Most recipes call for olive oil, but I understand its "smoke point" is 420F, after which any higher temperature can cause carcinogenic heat reactions. Some recipes call for tossing the okra in ghee instead of oil before putting it in the oven, yum (and some even call for tossing it in bacon grease afterward, ay!). Other recipes add spices like cayenne, cumin, garlic powder or smoked paprika before roasting. This recipe developed by Vered Deleeuw on Healthy Recipes is a simple one.
Stew it! My mama (@Cathy) sent me to college with this gumbo recipe: 2 TBS bacon grease, one onion, equal parts fresh (cubed) okra and tomatoes (can be canned), 1 TBS vinegar, salt, pepper, cover with water, and boil. Those home grown recipes are the BEST, and I'll let my mama add on here with tips. This recipe on the Food Network from Pat & Gina Neely will also get you there.
Pan fry it! I'll also need my mama's help here, and I think you'll need to use a cast iron pan for this to get sufficiently toasty, but this may be one of my favorite dishes in the world. It's tricky to get right, though! In a nutshell, pan fry (diced) onions, equal parts fresh (cubed) okra & potatoes, with some salt & pepper sprinkled on. This Aloo Bhindi northern Indian recipe by Jiya Jesh on on Blogexplore adds more lovely spices than we did on the farm, but it follows the same method, I think, and provides very helpful photos.
Let me know how it goes!
