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Saturday, August 4, 2012

Eating From The Summer Garden: Tomatoes & Okra!

I'm really enjoying the summer bounty here in the Hill Country Garden! I've been harvesting tomatoes, okra, basil, oregano, onions almost on a daily basis....so what's one to do? Well, here's one suggestion: tomato and okra summer simmer sizzle!  Name too long? Probably, but it pretty much describes this bright and savory dish.

I start by slicing heirloom black cherry and Juliet tomatoes and add them to a bit of olive oil warming up in a pan.  Then, I add salt, pepper, garlic and fresh crushed dried basil leaves.  (I like to harvest bundles of fresh basil and hang them upside down to air dry in my kitchen window - that way I just reach over and crush the dried aromatic herbs between my hands and sprinkle all over the dish I'm cooking....it's such a treat!). 

After the tomatoes begin simmering and releasing their juices, I add fresh sliced okra. Sprinkle in just a bit more salt and let simmer for a few minutes. 


Take a look at these amazing cayenne peppers! It was so fun harvesting these red hot beauties.  I'm always looking for ways to incorporate them in the dishes I'm making.  For this dish, I sliced one pepper and added to the tomato and okra mix.  They cook into the food so easily and by only using one, the dish gets more flavor rather than heat. 




     After a few minutes, the okra begins to cook and soften.


After a couple more minutes the tomatoes and okra are simmering and enjoying each other's company.  The tomatoes naturally add a tangy bright sauce making this dish a real treat for your taste buds. 


Now that the okra and tomatoes are ready to eat! Plate the dish and grab a fork and dig in! This is a great dish all on its own and it also goes extremely well with fried or baked chicken. 

Mmmmm!  

1 comment:

Lyanna said...

This dish looks extremely healthy and tasty. I love how you put pictures for each step for what it's suppose to look like. I find pictures really help with cooking instructions. I think the cayenne peppers in this dish really give it it's flavour.

Thanks for sharing this perfect dish for the summer time.