Roasted Okra Is Our Favorite Salty Snack

Browning okra in the oven coaxes out all its nuanced vegetal flavors.

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(upbeat music)
– Okra is loved all over the world
and added to any number of
stews, curries, and stir-fries.
Not to mention it’s
delicious when deep fried.
But today, Becky’s gonna
show us how to roast it.
– Oh, this is one of my
favorite ways to prepare okra.
It gets nice and brown,
a little bit crispy.
And you just need okra, oil, and salt.
– I like it.
– Super easy.
So, we’re gonna do a pound of okra
and they can be all different widths,
all different lengths.
So, you just wanna choose pods
that are about the same size.
– [Julia] That makes sense.
– [Becky] So, you just
wanna take the caps off,
split them in half lengthwise.
– [Julia] Okay, so you’re
opening them up down the center,
right through the core.
– That’s right.
– All right.
– So, you can see all those
seeds that they’re famous for.
And then, I’m going to add
two teaspoons of vegetable oil
and half teaspoon of salt.
– [Julia] It’s the cutting ’em in half
that I find interesting.
– Well, we want those nice flat surfaces
’cause those are gonna get
nice and brown and crispy,
so that’s why we’re cutting them.
– Ah, that makes sense.
– Yep.
So, the oil is gonna
help the salt cling here,
and I just wanna give
them a really nice toss.
I wanna make sure that
they’re evenly coated
in that oil and that salt,
so they’re nicely seasoned.
Okay, so those are nice and evenly coated.
(baking sheet rustling)
My baking sheet.
So, I just wanna turn them
all cut side down here,
because the cut side browns a lot better
than the curved side.
That’s what we’re after
is that nice browning.
Thank you.
– Yeah.
– And that crispiness.
All right, that looks pretty good.
Now, I’m gonna cover these with foil.
When we roasted them uncovered,
they cooked unevenly.
So, I’m gonna cover them with foil
for the first part of
cooking for 12 minutes
in a 425 degree oven.
Then, I’ll take the foil off
and let them roast for another 12 minutes.
– Okay.
(oven door popping)
So, okra can have a slippery texture,
which is pleasing to
some, but not to others.
And this slippery texture all depends
on whether the okra’s cooked with water.
Here’s what happens.
An okra pod contains a wealth
of long polysaccharide molecules.
When okra is stewed or
simmered with liquid,
its unique polysaccharides
dissolve into the surrounding water,
turning the liquid into a gel.
The tangle of dissolved
molecules gives the liquid
that distinctive slippery viscosity.
If we cook okra in a dry environment
like roasting in the oven,
the outcome is very different.
Without water, the polysaccharides
can’t dissolve and tangle,
and the texture of the okra is
delightfully firm and crisp.
So if you wanna enjoy the flavor of okra
without that slippery
texture, try roasting.
– Okay, it’s been 12 minutes,
so let’s take this foil off.
(foil crinkling)
Oh yeah, look at all that steam.
– [Julia] Yep.
– [Becky] That’s what we want.
(foil crinkling)
– And that’s just the natural moisture
in the okra doing its thing.
– That’s right.
And you see how it turned
nice and bright green?
That’s exactly what we want.
We’re gonna roast these
for another 12 minutes.
And I have these on a shiny baking sheet.
If we were using a dull
or a matte baking sheet,
I only wanna roast them for seven minutes.
They’ll be nice and brown in that time.
– [Julia] Makes sense.
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– So, while those finish up,
let’s make a nice little
dipping sauce for our okra.
– I have two teaspoons of vegetable oil
over medium heat here.
I want that just to start to shimmer.
So, this is gonna be a
nice little dipping sauce.
This okra is great as an appetizer.
Just I’ll make a tray as a midday snack.
– Oh really?
– Even without the sauce. Yeah, so good.
Or you can serve this as a side dish.
– Ooh, I like that idea.
– [Becky] Yeah.
Okay, so I’m adding five
minced garlic cloves.
– [Julia] Just a little bit of garlic.
– (giggles) Just a little bit.
Just wanna cook this until the
garlic just starts to brown.
All right, you can see the
garlic is starting to brown.
So, I’m gonna add some spices here.
I have three quarters of
a teaspoon of coriander,
three quarter teaspoon of cumin,
three quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika.
– [Julia] Ooh, love that. Ooh.
– Ooh, smell it already.
And just an eighth of
a teaspoon of cayenne.
So, we’re just gonna cook that
until that becomes fragrant.
It’s happening already.
All right, and that is our
nice flavor base for our dip.
I’m gonna take that off the
heat, put this into a bowl.
(Julia hums approvingly)
You can tell that’s gonna be good, right?
– Yeah.
– Okay.
Now, I just have some
jarred roasted red peppers.
I patted them dry.
And this is one-third of a
cup, chopped up nice and fine.
Then, I also have half teaspoon of salt.
And just a touch of sugar,
just a quarter teaspoon.
Stir that together.
I have a couple more ingredients to add,
but I’m gonna cool this down
in the fridge for five minutes first.
– [Julia] Okay.
– All right. It’s been 12 minutes.
– They shrunk.
– They did.
We’re gonna let these cool on the sheet
for about five minutes and any sticking
will release in that five minutes.
– [Julia] Aha!
– So, while that rests for a little bit,
let’s finish up our sauce.
These are the red peppers, garlic,
and spices that we put in the fridge.
I’m adding three tablespoons of mayo,
half teaspoon of lime juice.
– Mm?
– Yeah.
A little bit of brightness.
And a quarter teaspoon of lime zest.
– Interesting.
– Yeah. Really nice sauce.
Lots of flavors going on.
– [Julia] Smoked paprika,
cumin, roasted rep peppers.
– [Becky] Uh-huh.
– Lime juice?
– Yeah.
Okay, let’s put this in a serving dish.
And then, we’re gonna have ourselves
a nice little okra party.
(both laughing)
That I’m very much looking forward to.
See that nice browning that we got?
– Oh yeah.
– [Becky] They get a little
bit crispy on the edges.
– [Julia] Ooh.
Like, little okra fries.
– Yeah, it doesn’t have any
of that slippery texture
that you get when when you
cook it in a stew or something.
All right.
(Julia hums approvingly)
So, I’ll give you a little sauce
and then I’ll give myself a little sauce.
And then we can have our little party.
(Julia laughs)
Party for two.
– [Julia] Party for two.
– [Becky] Here, make sure you get
a couple of super crispy ones.
– Oh, the little guys?
– Yeah.
– [Julia] This is the
cutest little okra ever.
– [Becky] Oh, I know. They’re adorable.
– [Julia] I can’t believe
how much they shrunk.
That was a lot-
– Yeah.
– Of moisture in that okra.
Oh my goodness.
That’s delicious.
I’ve had ’em grilled before,
but I’ve never had ’em roasted like this.
– Try one without the sauce too,
because even by itself
it’s very satisfying.
You could just add a little
squeeze of lime juice.
That’s what I do sometimes.
– Oh my goodness.
– Or just have ’em like this.
– I could eat a lot of these.
– I could probably eat the whole tray.
(both laughing)
For real.
– Oh my goodness.
I like this as much as
I like french fries.
I mean, they’re delicious.
(hums approvingly)
– [Becky] So good, right?
– [Julia] This is incredible.
Thank you.
– [Becky] You’re welcome.
– So if you wanna give roasted okra a try,
cut the okra in half
and lay it cut side down
on the baking sheet.
Cover for the first 12 minutes of baking
and let the okra cool for
five minutes before serving.
From "America’s Test Kitchen,"
the incredibly delicious roasted okra
with spicy red pepper mayonnaise.
You can get this recipe and all
the recipes from this season
along with select episodes
and our product reviews
on our website,
AmericasTestKitchen.com/TV.
(bright upbeat music)
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– Oh, I know.
– I’m eating three at a time.
– I noticed you grabbed multiples.
(both giggling happily)
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