Okrasicles

Don’t these look like an alien life form? I just love them.

Since I live in Oklahoma, I have learned to love okra. Believe me, it was an acquired taste, but now I truly look forward to the heat of the summer when okra is in abundant supply.

This is the simplest possible way to make okra and even people who don’t normally like okra seem to like it.

Ingredients:

• fresh okra, cleaned and dried
• olive oil
• kosher salt
• pepper

Fire up the grill (even if it is an indoor one) to 475 degrees.

Put the okra into a colander in the sink. Drizzle olive oil all over it. After you’ve put on your food prep gloves, toss the okra so that the olive oil coats all of it lightly. By having it in a colander, the excess drains out. Add the kosher salt and pepper.

Place the okra on the grill. Turn when the first side becomes slightly charred. When both sides are done, add a little more salt and pepper. You can place these on skewers like some wild lollipop, or simply place them on a platter.

Here, I cut off the top of an eggplant and used it as a base to put my okrasicles in. I laid the remainder around the plate and added just a bit of garnish.

These also work well as a snack.