i am always in search of new ways to cook just about anything. once again, i went to lucy's market today and purchased a bag of these amazing looking okra (kim, the owner, has the best produce around, i'm convinced). coming from the south, the only way we know how to eat okra is fried, deep fried. that's just not an option these days, so i decided to play on the old southern favorite. the okra i picked up today was gorgeous. i have seen it around in all of the markets and it just didn't excite me. but today it did. i made this for brian and myself, and i am so glad i did. obviously, i cut the okra in half, length wise, because it is pretty that way, and then pan seared them in a cast iron skillet. i really think the cast iron skillet was the reason for the fantastic result. i simply heated up the skillet and added about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. while that was getting hot, i cut all the okra and sprinkled each piece with salt and pepper. when the oil was good and hot, i placed the okra, cut side down in the pan, and seared them for about 4 minutes. after they got this nice brown (okay black) color i put them all on a plate and sprinkled just a touch more salt. after tasting my first okra slice, i decided this is my new french fry. it covers it all. it's the same shape as a fry ( go with me on this), it's crunchy, i can eat it with my fingers, it's salty, and it's to die for. and it's soooo much better for you! you have to try this, or your own version. hurry though, okra season is coming to an end.
