Add okra to boost this flavourful gumbo
Once hard to come by in Ontario, this tasty vegetable is catching on
Canadians consume more than six million kilograms of okra each year and as we are preparing to receive another 1.5 million immigrants in the coming years the demand for okra will exceed 10 million kilos annually, most of which is imported from the Caribbean, Central America and the southern United States.
This heat-loving, droughttolerant plant grows up to five metrew in height with heartshaped leaves and pale yellow flowers. The entire plant is edible but it is praised for the green fuzzy pods, referred to as lady’s fingers due to their shape, which are loaded with vitamins and minerals.
Okra pods are full of tiny seeds and sap. The seeds can be pressed to produce mild-tasting oil high in unsaturated fats that is great to use in the kitchen or can be processed into biofuel. The sap is mucilaginous which can make it feel slimy to the tongue but makes for a great thickening agent when properly cooked and is loaded with soluble fibre.
The pods are typically prepared raw, pickled, or by simply roasting or pan-frying the pods whole, a great way enjoy the benefits of okra without the sliminess.
Fresh okra has a one-week shelf life. When imported to Canada it often has already started to develop black spots and is ready for the compost heap, but in recent years the Vineland research Institute and Innovation Centre in the Niagara region has been promoting the growing of okra right here in Ontario.
Okra has to be hand-harvested daily through its growing season of May through September and is only grown by a small group of large-scale producers with many smaller operations growing for the local markets.
“Gumbo" is the Swahili word for okra that was brought to North America from Africa by those who were traded into slavery.
The following recipe for gumbo is loaded with history and is a great way to adjust to the hot days and cool nights of August as we begin to transition between seasons.
Chicken & Okra Gumbo
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour ½ cup cooking oil
2 cups coarsely diced yellow onion
1 cup coarsely diced celery 2 cups coarsely diced red bell peppers
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups chicken stock
6 ounces Andouille sausage, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp. Reggae Rub or jerk seasoning
1 tbsp. dried thyme
1 tbsp. smoked hot paprika
3/4 pound fresh okra, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 ½ cups cooked, shredded chicken
¾ cup thinly sliced green onions
Tabasco sauce
Method: In a large heavy bottomed, stock pot whisk the flour into the cooking oil until it forms a smooth paste to form a roux. Cook the roux over low heat, whisking often, until it turns a deep brown color but not burned. This will take about an hour to do and allows you to prepare the remaining ingredients, so long as you regularly pause to give the roux a whisking. Add the onion, celery, bell peppers and garlic to the roux and continue cooking the roux and vegetables over low heat, continuously stirring the mixture until the onions are translucent.
Slowly whisk in the chicken stock into the roux until evenly incorporated. Add the Andouille sausage, bay leaves, jerk seasoning, thyme and paprika and bring to a simmer. Continue cooking the gumbo over low heat for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally before adding the okra and shredded chicken. Let the gumbo rest for 25-20 minutes before seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaves and discard.
To serve, ladle the gumbo over fresh steamed rice, garnish with the scallions and serve with Tabasco sauce.