My husband actually had to remind me to post today. Not that I forgot about New Food Friday, just that I didn’t realize it was already the end of the week!.
Granted, my day off is switching to Mondays so Friday is really my Wednesday (how’s that for confusing?).
Anyway.
This week’s new food: okra.
Neither my husband nor myself had ever had it (caveat: that we remember), nor had my friend who had popped by on her way home and was guilted into staying for dinner.
Who can resist an invitation of “Hey, we’re home late and now that you’ve been sitting on our front stoop waiting, want to hang out while I do laundry and roast vegetables you might not like on a hot day?”
Luckily my friend was easily convinced/tricked and was able to visit before I descend into technical rehearsals (read: long long long hours) and she leaves for Italy today (read: jealous).
The verdict? Inoffensive.
After so many horror stories about slimy, sticky okra, we weren’t sure what to expect. I chopped it into vaguely uniform pieces, tossed the okra with parboiled diced potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, and ground cumin, then roasted the lot at 425F for about 20 minutes. A sprinkle of garam masala spice mix, another dusting of salt, and I thought it was pretty darn good. It didn’t have a strong flavor other than the spices, but I liked it. It reminded me a bit of eggplant. I’m not sure I would seek it out specifically, but at least I’m not scared of getting it again in the CSA.
What new food did you try this week?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Being a southern girl, I have been eating okra my whole life. Though, I haven’t had it in a while. Did it turn out crunchy?
My father-in-law is from the south, so the hubby isn’t positive he’s never had it — but he doesn’t remember it either. It wasn’t crunchy. The other common way I saw it prepared was battered and fried, so maybe that would?
Was the okra green before you roasted it? I’ve never seen it that puple-ish color before. Never thought to roast it either, I’ll have to give it a try.
Nope! It was red okra from our last CSA box.
I wanted to try it a somewhat simple way to actually taste it and the most common method I found was battering and frying. Due to my fear of deep frying, roasting seemed a better choice. =)
Your CSA is pretty amazing, you get such a wonderful variety of produce. My husband is partial to eating okra in Indian dishes, but we never eat it at home, it’s one of those forgotten veggies for us. I’ll have to remember to pick some up soon.
I cooked flank steak for the first time! Not the first time I’ve eaten it, but the first time I’ve prepared it myself. It turned out great!
Yay! I’m so happy you liked the okra, Stacy. I love it. Speaking of trying okra, you might like this piece I wrote about my relationship with okra. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112761034.
As for new foods, I ate fresh black currants from the farmers’ market. They were much tarter than I expected.