Guilt Free Okra!

With fall right around the corner, many people are finishing up final harvests on their gardens. Some may have more than they know what to do with, and this is the time of year you may have to get a little creative! Canning, vacuum sealing, sharing with neighbors, and new recipes are all good ways to put your fresh veggies to use!

Since moving to Kentucky, I have learned about growing many different types of vegetables and crops that we didn’t grow back home in New York. One of those vegetables is okra. It is much more popular in Kentucky; I don’t recall ever eating it in NY. I first encountered okra while I was working on an organic vegetable farm in Lagrange, KY. There, I learned all about growing, cultivating, harvesting, and storing the okra.

Okra is an elongated pod like vegetable and is either green or purple in color. It grows on a medium sized bush-like plant and is harvested once the pods reach 2 to 4 inches in length, before the seed can fully form inside the pod. Okra grows very quickly, and the bushes need to be checked and the pods harvested at least every other day to catch them at peak size. The okra pods can get quite large if left unharvested, over 7 inches in length, but they will not be as tender and will be full of seeds.

Okra is available in Kentucky, June through September. So, by now you might be worn out eating okra and need some new ideas and recipes. The standard way I’ve seen okra prepared here is battered and fried. (of course, this is Kentucky, everything is fried!) Personally, I’m not a huge fan of greasy deep-fried foods, but I still wanted to enjoy some fresh okra I received from a friend, in a traditional but healthy way. So, last night I decided to try my hand at preparing some okra and putting them in my air-fryer, and I was not disappointed! It was super easy and way healthier than throwing them in the deep fryer.

Ingredients:

~ Okra

~ Flour

~ Breadcrumbs

~ Eggs

~ Milk

~ Seasoning of choice

First, you’ll want to wash the okra. Putting it in a colander and rinsing them off will work fine. ~Don’t wash your okra until you are ready to use it, it will become slimy.

Pre-heat your air-fryer to 390 DEG. F.

Cut the ends off the okra and then cut the okra into about 1-inch sections.

Next, I prepared three bowls to batter my okra. One for the egg / milk, the second for the flour, and the third for the breadcrumbs. (Also, mix whatever seasonings you want in with the breadcrumbs)

Roll the okra in the flour until coated

Dip the okra in the egg / milk mixture

Roll the okra in the breadcrumbs until thoroughly coated

Finally, put the okra in the air-fryer for around 10-15 minutes, shaking the basket multiple times throughout the cooking process.

Enjoy!