Okra, chicken, and tomato saute recipe

You may have noticed that I'm slightly obsessed with okra, and I love finding fellow okra lovers. Last week, Susan from Food Blogga posted a picture on Twitter of an okra dish that she had made, and it looked fabulous. I anxiously awaited the appearance of the recipe, and was overjoyed to find it a few days later. She also included a lot of great info about selecting, storing, and cooking okra, so go check out her post.

As luck would have it, I found some lovely pods at the farmers' market this week. Every time I buy okra, I'm met with a look of confusion. Apparently I'm the only non-Indian shopper who buys the stuff here. Oh well, more for me!

Okra, chicken, and tomato saute (adapted from Food Blogga)

(Printable version)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 lb okra, chopped

1/2 jalapeno, diced

1 cup chicken stock

1 tsp cornstarch

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp cilantro, minced

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onion and cook until tender (about 5 min). Then stir in the chicken and cook until browned (about 7 min). Add the bell pepper, okra, and jalapeno, and saute for a few minutes. Then dissolve the cornstarch in the stock, and add this and the tomatoes, cumin, and salt and pepper to the skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer until the veggies are completely tender (about 12 min). Stir in the cilantro and serve over your favorite grain (I used millet). Serves 4.

This was just as good as I imagined, and I'm so glad that I tried it out! I really hope that I can continue to find okra for a while because there are many more recipes I want to try. The pods are already becoming somewhat large, and bigger is definitely not better in okra's case. I'll keep my fingers crossed!