Eat Your Stars and Get Your Greens

posted September 2, 2007
  by Amy Powell, Real Meals In Minutes

Ah, the things we tell kids to get them to eat their vegetables. Suddenly broccoli becomes “Trees” and raisins and peanut butter on celery sticks become “Ants on a Log.” When an unappetizing green thing is given an entirely different personage, it curiously becomes easier to swallow. This was the case, anyway, in my house with Star Soup, where the key ingredient, the “stars,” were an unpleasant looking green thing known as okra. Broccoli becomes trees, okra becomes stars, and even the pickiest kid eaters will give their green vegetables a second chance.

In season at the moment, okra is a 2-4 inch long green pod that finds its way into a variety of international cuisines as well as some popular Southern dishes. In spite of its international flair, okra’s origins lie in East Africa in what is now known as Ethiopia. The first known recordings of okra come from the Egyptians in the 12th century. It was presumably through trade with the Egyptians that the green flowering plant was introduced to Arabia, Mediterranean countries, and India, where it has been commonly cultivated since that time. Although far from a common dish, okra can now be found regularly in cuisines worldwide from Japan to Brazil.

It was in fact through a bastardization of a East African word for the fruit of this plant that we get the name gumbo, which is now the word for okra in Mediterranean countries as well as the name for the popular Southern dish where okra is the key ingredient. Brought to America through the slave trade, okra now finds its way into American homes through gumbo as well as a variety of other preparations from battered and fried, to pickled, to--in my house--star soup.

Star soup is so named because when the okra is cut crosswise, what is revealed inside is a dense configuration of seeds that resemble the shape of a star. Those seeds are high in unsaturated oil content and lend a terrific crunch and texture to the vegetable that is truly unique. The leaves of the plant can also be harvested and prepared in a way similar to dandelion greens.

Okra is a great vegetable for this time of year because it makes for some of the perfect transition dishes from summer to fall. Although technically a late summer crop, the dishes that okra is best known for typically veer toward the hearty or comfort food variety. Gumbo, for instance, is a rich stew consisting of a variety of shellfish, poultry, and pork, in a highly seasoned broth that has been thickened with roux. The resulting stew is served all across the American South typically on a bed of rice. In Southern India, where okra maintains some popularity, the vegetable is sautéed with onions and spices in a good amount of oil and served “dry,” meaning without a sauce base, over some white rice. In Brazil, okra is prepared in a manner similar to America in a dish called frango com quiabo, a stew of chicken and okra.

As the weather cools and the crops turn from tomatoes to winter squash, now might be the time to try out a new vegetable on the family. A green thing that looks like a star is sure to make your kids, big and little, take a second look at eating their vegetables. Serve those stars in a hearty stew or soup that really show it off and you will have the perfect entrée fall dish to get them eating their stars all the way to Christmas.

Dry Indian Okra Recipe
http://www.cdkitchen.com/


Serves/Makes: 4
Ready in: < 30 minutes

* 1 pound okra
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1/2 teaspoon Coriander seeds
* 1/2 medium onion
* 2 plum tomatoes
* 1 teaspoon Ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon Ground coriander
* 1 pinch cayenne
* salt and pepper
* 1/2 lime, juiced
* rice

Trim stem end and bottom tip of each okra fruit then cut each fruit into pieces about 1 inch long. Heat vegetable oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Finely dice onion. Place coriander seeds in oil for about 10 seconds until fragrant then add okra and onion. Saute for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile cut tomatoes in half and squeeze out seeds. Discard seeds and roughly chop tomato. After 10 minutes reduce heat on okra to medium and add tomatoes to pan along with cumin, coriander, cayenne, a sprinkle of salt and some black pepper.

Continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Add lime juice and taste for seasoning adding more salt or pepper if necessary. Serve with cooked rice.

©2008 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction of this article may be made without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.

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