Eating In: Mimi’s Okra, Potato & Onions

By Kevin Grzyb in Food on Sep 30, 2005 5:07PM

Fear no okra. Whenever okra comes up, people usually have one reaction – slimy, and okra is slimy, sometimes. We love Creole and Cajun food, but once the okra gets tossed into the gumbo, it’s a tragedy waiting to happen in the wrong hand.

Fried okra is the way to go, but batter dipped and deep fried is really over powering for the poor little pods. Mrs. Chicagoist’s grandmother (Mimi) used to make a dish of pan fried okra, potatoes and onion with cornmeal, and working with her childhood memory of the dish and grandma’s kitchen (and some experimentation), this is how she did it:

First cut the okra into half inch slices, discarding the tips and the ends (Two Cups). Next cut potato into half inch cubes (there are awesome fingerling potatoes that are just being harvested at the farmer’s markets, which will be running until at least mid-October, some through mid-November) we used German Butter potatoes, they were good (Two Cups). Finally chop the onion into a large dice (think the size on a two peg Lego) (One Cup). You will also need a half cup of yellow corn meal (the coarser ground works well in this dish)

Once you have your chopping done, the next step is to get a large bowl and layer in the ingredients: half of the potato, half of the okra, half of the onion, then sprinkle over half of the corn meal, repeat with the rest of the ingredients. Salt and pepper. Then toss everything together well with a wooden spoon or go at it with your hands. The corn meal will stick predominately to the slimy/sticky ends of the okra.

Get a heavy frying pan, cast iron is great if you have it, and put in an eighth inch of oil (safflower, corn, vegetable all work…just not olive oil) over medium heat. Heat the oven on low (200 degrees) or as low as it will go, you’ll cook this off in batches and the first batch goes in the oven while the second batch fries.

Transfer the mix into the frying pan so that there is a single layer in the pan and let it cook for about five minutes then flip once the corn meal starts to brown. This NEEDS to cook over a medium flame (or god forbid, electric range) or the potatoes won't cook through by the time everything else is done. After another five minutes, flip again and break up any pieces that stick together. Cook the batch until the potatoes turn golden brown and are tender to a fork, then transfer to a paper towel to blot off the extra oil and onto a cookie sheet in the over to keep warm while you do the second batch.

This ratio makes two entrees, served with homegrown tomatoes from a neighbor (score!) with enough to send some back over as a thank you, or it will serve four to six people as a side dish. Traditionally, this was done at Mimi’s as an entrée with tomatoes. You can also cut the proportions in half and make a single batch, or double them for more.

Enjoy.