My grandmother was born in New Iberia, Louisiana, the place they make Tabasco sauce. So you’d think she’d have cooked all sorts of spicy Cajun food. Au contraire; my Nana was Scots-Irish, and aside from her delicious gumbo, her flavoring was mild. One dish of hers I always loved was her steamed okra dipped in oil & vinegar dressing. It’s easy and pretty foolproof.

First, you steam the okra in one of these steaming basket thingies for about 6 minutes, a tad longer if it’s huge.

While the okra steams, prepare a standard oil & vinegar dressing:

2/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp mustard
a little basil (dried is ok)

Pour some dressing into an individual dipping container (we use small custard cups) for each person. When the okra is done, serve everyone some of it. To eat it, grab the head and dip the rest of the pod into the oil and vinegar. Small pods are eaten in one bite; larger ones may need to be double-dipped, hence the individual bowls!

-Rachel B., webmaster