Submitted by René McCracken, NTCC Ag Director
Our Fall 2018 semester is kicking off this week at Northeast. It’s hard to believe that fall season is just around the corner and the pumpkin spice ‘everything’ will soon start lining the shelves, especially with 100 degree temperatures still with us.
The last of summer has most gardens past their prime. However with the use of shade and heaving mulching we have managed to still be harvesting tomatoes, bell peppers and of course okra. As always when I have extra produce — I try to find unique ways to enjoy the abundance!
Today’s recipe - Fried Okra Salad uses all of summer’s-end bounty in the most delicious way. Southerners have fried okra and just about every other vegetable but maybe not in whole pieces. We select our okra pods to be small, tender and flavorful and bypass the chopping phase. Simply wash then dry and prepare for frying. I used equal parts of self rising flour and yellow cornmeal with added salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and dill for the dry mix. Next, I whisked together 4 eggs and 1/3 cup of salsa. Now the messy part. Dredge the okra pods in the egg mixture then in the dry mix till evenly coated. Fry in hot oil till crispy brown. Rest on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
While friend okra is resting, slice a vine ripe tomato, a bell pepper, red onion and if you prefer add in bacon chucks. Toss together and serve with your favorite dressing. I prefer a balsamic honey dressing or a Tuscan Italian as pictured. I also like to add in parmesan cheese or feta cheese to the mix as well. Take this to your next potluck and I swear you won’t have to take a single bite home. If you would like more information about our NTCC Farm, list of recipes or the agriculture program go to www.ntcc.edu/ag. Farm Fashioned Recipes are recipes grown and developed by Rene’ McCracken at the NTCC Farm in Mount Pleasant Texas. McCracken is the director of agriculture and resident foodie that inspires her students to choose locally grown foods to permeate their meal selections. McCracken can be reached at 903-434-8267 or rmccracken@ntcc.edu.
