My first Okra experiment! That's exactly what it was, and experiment. I literally cooked this dish yesterday afternoon having NO idea what would come out of me. Sometimes I become like a possessed chef. I had a gross of tomatoes from my moms garden on one hand and this “Okra stuff” on the other.
Normally I do a bit of research when I'm trying a new ingredient but this time I felt semi-informed. Alton Brown had a show on okra a while back and I remembered a bit about its properties and how it cooked up.
Honestly, I really didn't have any intention on posting this, so I didn't pull my camera out until the very end after I took a bite. I loved the Mexican inspired flavors with the thickened broth and smooth Orzo texture. It was a fun stew-ish type of meal. And you know my stance on on pot meals, I LOVE them! The husband, on the other hand, wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.
I was thinking of adding a can of corn next time, maybe even some black beans. That was the direction I wanted to go in, but I was attempting to keep the points low as I was just coming off a VERY indulgent weekend. So I chose super light. When I calculated the nutritional information I was shocked, it was pretty filling!
Ingredients
- 2 thick sliced of a large sweet onion chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic diced
- 3-4 medium tomatoes (preferably from a garden and juicy)
- 2 cups of sliced okra
- 1 can (15oz) of your favorite broth, chicken, beef or veggie
- 1 4oz can of diced green chilis
- juice of 1 lime (~1 tbsp)
- 1 teaspoon each chili powder, ground cumin and dried cilantro
- 2 oz of whole wheat Orzo Pasta
- Non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
Heat a medium sized pot over medium high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and add the onion.
While the onion is sizzling, dice the garlic. Add it to the pot and stir. The onion should have some nice brown scorches and there may be some stuff stuck to the bottom of the pan. That's. OK.
Leave the temperature alone and dice one of the tomatoes. Add it the pot with as much juice as possible. Stir. You'll see the tomato start to deglaze (remove the burned onion) the pan. Dice your second tomato, add to the pot and stir. Do this for all the tomatoes.
Once the tomatoes have been added there should be just a bit of liquid and the bottom of your pot should be clean (no burnt stuff). Stir in the sliced okra.
Then add the broth, green chilis, lime juice and spices. Bring up to a boil. Then lower to a simmer, add the orzo pasta and cover. Cook for about ½ hour.
Serve sprinkled with a bit of dried cilantro and a side of corn bread! YUM!
📖 Recipe
Mexican Inspired Okra Orzo Stew
Ingredients
- 2 thick sliced of a large sweet onion chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic diced
- 3-4 medium tomatoes preferably from a garden and juicy
- 2 cups of sliced okra
- 1 can 15oz of your favorite broth, chicken, beef or veggie
- 1 4 oz can of diced green chilis
- juice of 1 lime ~1 tbsp
- 1 teaspoon each chili powder ground cumin and dried cilantro
- 2 oz of whole wheat Orzo Pasta
- Non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Heat a medium sized pot over medium high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and add the onion.Non-stick cooking spray, 2 thick sliced of a large sweet onion chopped
- While the onion is sizzling, dice the garlic. Add it to the pot and stir. The onion should have some nice brown scorches and there may be some stuff stuck to the bottom of the pan. That's. OK.3 cloves of garlic diced
- Leave the temperature alone and dice one of the tomatoes. Add it the pot with as much juice as possible. Stir. You'll see the tomato start to deglaze (remove the burned onion) the pan. Dice your second tomato, add to the pot and stir. Do this for all the tomatoes.3-4 medium tomatoes, juice of 1 lime
- Once the tomatoes have been added there should be just a bit of liquid and the bottom of your pot should be clean (no burnt stuff). Stir in the sliced okra.2 cups of sliced okra
- Then add the broth, green chilis, lime juice and spices. Bring up to a boil. Then lower to a simmer, add the orzo pasta and cover. Cook for about ½ hour.1 can, 1 4 oz can of diced green chilis, juice of 1 lime, 2 oz of whole wheat Orzo Pasta, 1 teaspoon each chili powder
- Serve sprinkled with a bit of dried cilantro and a side of corn bread! YUM!
roni
Hi Marie! Glad you took the idea and ran with it that's what my site is all about. 🙂
Marie
I got okra from my CSA and have never had it before, so I was looking for recipes. Stumbled across this one and tried it. I admit I changed it a little - didn't add the green chilis (thought I had them in the pantry but didn't) as well as added corn and chicken, but this was REALLY bland. Only 1 tsp cumin and 1 tsp chili powder? Could probably go with 1 tbsp, at least of the chili powder. Also needed salt and pepper. Ended up adding some chipotle powder, too.
Note: I am not into spicy foods; just into seasoned foods...
As far as the okra - didn't even tell it was there. Which is I guess good 🙂
Maranda
Fried okra is so good.
Roni, My husband made me this for lunch today and it was so good. He really enjoyed it too, which is funny because he was making some serious faces when he read that it had Okra in it. He did add Corn, Black Beans, and Chicken, he won't do a meatless meal.
Christy
We used to eat Okra when I was a kid. Most of the time it was fried...which is really good...but not so healthy. This stew looks good. Our cafeteria here at work makes something like this. It seems pretty close to the recipe you posted. Just onions, okra and tomatoes with some spices.
Megan
I love okra. Your recipe looks so good and easy to make!
ttfn300
Hmm, I tried okra once in something, but wasn't a huge fan. This looks pretty tasty maybe i'll have to give it another go with farmstand okra!!