Okra and Tomato Saute

What a boring title for a post…I’m surprised you’re even reading this. But really, I just couldn’t think of anything else to call this. You should trust me when I say it’s worth making, though, because you’ll love it. I’m sure of it.

Since I fell off the face of the blogging planet, I haven’t been able to talk much about Billy’s new fructose-free diet. It’s been about two months since he totally cut everything fructose out, and it’s been a big adjustment for us in terms of what we can cook and a huge adjustment for him since basically can’t eat anything. For the last three weeks or so, he’s been in the “introduction” phase where he can introduce one thing off the “bad” list of foods every three days. The first thing we decided to introduce was tomatoes because, let’s face it, they’re everywhere.

Since everything else in this recipe is on the “safe” list, we thought this would be a good way to introduce tomatoes.Bad idea. Apparently the fructose in tomatoes can basically kill a person. (Maybe that was an exaggeration, but just go with it, would ya?) We thoroughly enjoyed this okra and tomato creation, so I wanted to share it with you all in hopes that those of you who are anti-okra might give it a shot, but tomatoes are definitely a no-go for Billy.

Okra and Tomato Saute

Here’s what you’ll need:
Serves: 2 to 3 (as a side dish)
- olive oil
- 2 shallots (or 1 small onion), diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 to 10 okra pods, cut into 1-inch rounds
- 8 to 10 oz. cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- salt and pepper

Instructions:
Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat, then add the shallots and saute until soft, about three minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and stir around until it becomes fragrant, about one minute. Toss the okra into the pan and let it cook away until it begins to soften and loose some of it’s (notoriously) slimy texture, eight to ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once the okra begins to brown around the edges, add the tomatoes to the pan. Stir to combine, then let the mixture hang out in the pan until the tomatoes begin to release lots of juice and start to burst a bit. Season the whole thing with salt and pepper (you can add a little red pepper flakes for some kick, too). Once the tomatoes are added to the pan, it’s really up to you how much longer you cook it. I usually let it go for about five minutes, but I really just base it on how juicy the whole thing is.

Before ever trying this recipe, we only cooked okra one way — fried. After we planted a few okra plants this spring, we decided we needed to figure out a few other uses for it, and that’s how this recipe was born. It’s too bad that we can’t really make it anymore, because it’s a great variation for a vegetable you don’t see or use very often.

Every bite of this reminds me of summer. Sweet, juicy tomatoes with a nice crunch from the golden brown okra. After making this a few times, I’m pretty sure that okra and tomatoes were meant to be together. They really make a great combination. This is such an easy side dish to throw together and can pretty much go with any meat or a few nice grilled shrimp.

Fried okra is still my favorite preparation for this little green vegetable, but this is definitely a good way to mix things up and to taste a whole new side of okra. Even if you’re not a fan of okra, I would suggest giving this a try because the “okra” taste is less pungent once it’s sauteed down with the tomatoes. It might give you a whole new feeling about this weird, slimy vegetable. :)