Healthy Southern Food, seriously.

Okra: you either love it or hate it, there's no in between. For me, I'm on the love side. It's slimy, green, crunchy, and oh so delicious. I used to buy it frozen and simply saute it with some tomatoes. But by far my favorite way to eat the little green gooey guys is fried. They are like bite size, pop in your mouth little nuggets of happiness. It is a Southern classic and one of my favorites. I think I might have been from the South in a past life because I love all food from that region--crawfish, cornbread, collard greens, sweet potato pie, sweet tea, shrimp and grits... it's all happy in my belly.

I made tempura battered fried okra a few days ago and they were delicious. Today I wanted to do something a bit healthier so I found a recipe for oven fried okra. It sounded interesting and I was curious to see if they really would get just as crispy as the fried version. Another plus to this recipe was that I didn't need to buy buttermilk. To make really traditional Southern fried okra, you need buttermilk, cornmeal, and a ton of frying oil. This recipe didn't call for any of those, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I modified the recipe just a bit. I used half panko bread crumbs because I had some leftover from another night. I also threw in a bit of sriracha hot sauce to give a little kick. It didn't come out as crispy as I would have liked, but it still was tasty. It took me only about 15 minutes to prep it all and with cooking time took only about 30 minutes. A great snack or side dish, but definitely does not replace the real thing.

Oven Fried Okra
adapted from Knoxville Healthy Food Examiner

• 2 cups okra, sliced into 1/2" thick rounds
• 1 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. original bread crumbs
• 1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, Boil sliced okra for about 5 minutes or until tender. In a bowl, beat together the egg, sriracha, and 1 Tbsp water. Remove the okra from water, pat dry, and add to bowl. In a large ziplock bag, add the bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Remove okra from bowl with a slotted spoon and add to bag. Close bag and shake to coat okra. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and pour bag mixture on top. Place pan in oven for 15-20 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Serve immediately while still hot.