Summer's here and that means fresh, locally grown okra at the Midland Farmer's Market. We have been eating it literally every Saturday night for the past 5 weeks.
Here's how I like to do it.
First and most important is your okra. Select each pod with love and care. That translates as: buy fresh, if possible; like at a farmer's market where you are pretty sure they've been plucked from the garden that morning. Select small, tender pods. If they are too big they are stringy and tough, tough, tough.
Rinse, pat dry and slice the okra. Allow the cut okra to marinate in buttermilk for about 45 minutes.
Start heating your oil up. You want your oil to be between 350° to 375°. I like to use my 12 inch Lodge cast iron skillet. The suggested amount of oil should come half way up the side of the pan.
Drain off any excess buttermilk then toss the okra in a flour/cornmeal mixture.
Place the breaded okra on the parchment paper. Once
the cooking process begins it goes fairly quickly. That's why we want
to get all the okra breaded at once, waiting to be placed in the
skillet. Between each batch you may have to allow the oil to return to
the suggested heat.
Don't crowd the skillet; you can do this in batches.
With a slotted spoon, transfer the okra to a paper towel-lined serving platter. Sprinkle with a little Kosher salt. "Caution Will Robinson!" this is the point you may have to slap hands away from the goods. You, as the cook, are of course allowed to pick/eat as much as you want prior to putting it on the table. A small perk for the cook.
Fried Okra
Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 pounds fresh okra
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 cups canola or peanut oil
Kosher salt to taste
Method:
Lay an 18" piece of parchment paper on the cabinet. This will be for the okra after you dredge the pieces in the cornmeal / flour mixture. Place paper towels on a serving platter. This is for the okra as it comes out of the oil.
Rinse and pat dry okra. Cut off the cap and tip. Slice each pod into 1/2 inch pieces.
Place sliced okra in a bowl and toss with buttermilk. Refrigerate for 45 minutes prior to frying.
Combine cornmeal, flour, salt, garlic powder and pepper in a mixing bowl.
In a cast iron skillet heat oil to 350° to 375°.
Drain the buttermilk off the okra pieces. Toss the okra in the cornmeal / flour mixture and lay out on the parchment paper. I like to allow the breaded okra to sit for a little bit and come to room temperature. That way the temperature of the oil won't drop drastically.
In batches, drop handfuls of okra into the hot oil. Fill the pan but don't crowd okra in the pan. You want one layer. Avoid turning the okra much because a lot of the cornmeal will just fall to the bottom of the pan and will eventually burn. Let them be until you see they are turning a golden brown on bottom and, with a slotted spoon, carefully turn.
When the batch is golden brown use a slotted spoon and remove the okra to the serving dish covered in paper towels. Lightly sprinkle with Kosher salt
Repeat with the rest of the okra, in however many batches it takes.Toss a little Kosher salt on each batch as you place them on the paper towels.
Serve immediately.
Ahhhh, Hatch Chile season. I love it.
I can buy them in mass quantities, already roasted which is so much easier than roasting them myself at home. When you select a package of roasted chiles, make sure they are really roasted. You want the skins charred black. They will be much easier to remove the skins. If they are just partially roasted you'll have to peel off the waxy skin and that's a pain.
Let's talk
about heat for a moment. I definitely remove the seeds because I just
don't want the texture. Even if the Hatch chiles are the "mild"
variety, the veins pack some heat. So, I would suggest if you want your
soup really spicy leave all the veins. If you want a little bit of
spice, remove half of the veins. If you really want the soup milder,
remove all the veins. You will still get that fabulous Hatch Chile
flavor.
After rinsing all of the charred skins off, removing seeds and removing veins, coarsely chop and put into a pan with chicken broth. You are just heating the broth and chiles up since the chiles are already cooked.
In batches pureé the broth and chiles until very smooth.
Since you are blending something hot I would suggest placing a tea towel over the top of the blender lid just in case the contents decide to spew everywhere.
You should have about 8 cups of pureé
Pour the pureé back into the saucepan and slowly re-heat. Add the cream then salt to taste. The seasoning of the final produce will depend on how seasoned the broth you use is.
Cream of Roasted Hatch Chile Soup
Serves 8
Ingredients:
6 cups chicken broth
2 lbs whole roasted hatch chiles
1 cup Heavy cream
Method:
Purchase two pounds of roasted hatch chiles from the local roaster. Rinse/clean the skin off the chiles. Male a slit down the Chile and move the seeds and two of the three veins in the pepper.
Roughly chop the chiles and add to the chicken broth, just long enough to warm and meld flavors with the chicken stock.
In batches, pureé the vegetables and broth. Pour back into the saucepan and slowly re-heat. Stir in the cream then season to taste. Serve with croutons or crushed tortilla chips.
When I selected my peaches at the market, they were perfectly shaped, colored and ripe . When I leave the market I hand the sacker-boy my bag of hand selected peaches and ask him to pack separately with care which translates "Don't throw them into a bag. I would like to get home with fruit that's not bruised." What did he do? He placed them in their own private bag and literally tossed them in the cart. Oh well....
This is a very simple recipe to prepare.
Peel and slice your peaches.
Place stick of butter in a 9-1/2" x 11" baking dish and place in a preheated 350°F oven.
Mix the batter in a large measuring cup. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, milk, and sugar. Remove baking pan from oven and pour the batter into the baking dish. Yes, you are an observant individual....I did not take a photo of the batter.
Gently place the peaches on top of the batter. Place in the oven for about 30 minutes and this is what will emerge.
See how the batter gently folded over the peach slices? Pure deliciousness. Especially with vanilla ice cream
Peach Cobbler
Adapted from Nathalie Dupree's "New Southern Cooking"
Serves 6 - 8
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup all purpose flour, preferably soft-wheat
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 cups peaches, peeled and sliced, juices reserved
Method:
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Put the butter in a 9-by-13-inch ovenproof serving dish and place in the oven to melt.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and stir in the milk and sugar to make a batter. Remove the hot dish with the melted butter from the oven and pour in the batter. Spoon the peaches and then the peaches over the batter. Place the dish back in the oven and bake until the batter is browned and has risen up and around the fruit, about 30 minutes.
Perfect for a hot summer day; picnic or tea party. You'll love this even if you don't take your tea sweet. Papa and I have enjoyed this refreshing quaf the past couple of days while sitting in the shade on the back porch.
August is my favorite peach month. The peaches are sweeter and you can easily find freestone peaches. Clingstone are fine to eat out of hand but extremely frustrating when you cook with them and have to slice them up.
Since this is made with fresh fruit you will want to drink it within a day or two.
Iced Peach Tea
Makes approximately 2 quarts
Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
9-1/2 cups water, divided
3 large fresh peaches
2 - one quart tea bags
Method:
In a medium saucepan combine the sugar and 1-1/2 cups of the water. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Wash peaches and slice (keep skin on). Add peach slices to boiling sugar water. Lower heat and simmer for 40 minutes.
Boil remaining 8 cups water and add tea bags to make 2 quarts tea; set aside.
Pureé the peach mixture in a blender until smooth. Press through a fine mesh strainer.
Add 1-1/2 quarts of the black tea to the peach pureé. Stir and if you want the tea thinner you can add more of the tea; purely a personal preference.
Place in refrigerator until cold. Give the tea a stir prior to pouring over a glass of ice. Garnish with a mint leaf or a thin slice of peach.
