Getting in just under the wire, I’m here to share one last recipe highlighting summer produce before I pivot to all things cozy and autumn (yay!). I’m not ashamed to say that I made up this dish as a last-minute improvization on classic summer stewed okra and tomatoes after beginning to cook and realizing I only had one lonely, sad, tomato. I rummaged around in the fridge, hoping to find at least a half-empty can of tomato paste or diced tomatoes to make a sauce, when I laid eyes on a forgotten bottle of bloody mary mix tucked in the back. It was the only tomato-y item I had, and so into the pot it went along with some onions, garlic, and the okra.
It was the best damn okra I’ve ever made, with all the best flavors of a bloody mary – salty, spicy, tangy, with a huge hit of umami from the concentrated tomato juice. In the weeks since that first experiment, I’ve made some tweaks to the recipe to take advantage of juicy, flavorful late summer tomatoes and tone down the saltiness with a smaller amount of bloody mary mix. And because my favorite part of a bloody mary is the pickled okra garnish, I also added some vinegar to recreate that sour hit. It’s substantial enough to be a vegetarian/vegan main (see notes on vegan-ness of Bloody Mary mix below!) served over rice or alongside a thick crusty bread to soak up the sauce.
In the version shown here, I’ve used frozen baby okra, but any fresh or frozen type will work. Using whole okra pods (as opposed to the cut versions) will reduce the sliminess that can sometimes overwhelm okra dishes, but if your okra are very large, cutting them will make for easier eating. My all-time favorite bloody mary mix is Zing Zang (please sponsor me!) – my family has been drinking it for literally years – it’s thick with black pepper flecks, just the right amount of spicy, and has a more complex flavor than other versions. I also recently discovered it’s also vegan (as of 2019)! Most bloody mary mixes contain worcestershire sauce, which is not vegan due to the addition of anchovies.
I hope you enjoy the last few weeks of summer’s produce bounty! If you make this, please be sure to let me know how it turned out and tag me on Instagram (@thepiethatbinds) if you post a picture. And If you have a favorite bloody mary mix, let me know in the comments!
Blood Mary Okra
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil (or butter)
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 large, ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped (if using Romas or a similar small variety, use 4-5)
- 3/4 cup spicy bloody mary mix (preferably Zing Zang)
- 1 lb whole okra, frozen or fresh
- 1 Tbsp white distilled vinegar
Directions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until softened and golden brown. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
- Add tomatoes and stil until they break down and release their juices, about 5 minutes.
- Add bloody mary mix and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add okra, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover. Let simmer for 5-15 minutes or until okra is tender when pierced with a fork. The cooking time will depend on the size of your okra (shorter time for baby, longer for larger okra) and whether you are using fresh or frozen. Check every few minutes to ensure the okra doesn’t get too far gone and fall apart.
- Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.
- Enjoy as a side dish or as a vegetarian main with rice or bread.
