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Okra and Corn
1 pt. tender okra, sliced thin 1 cup shortening 1 pt. fresh corn Flour 1 cup milk few grains salt few grains pepper Fry okra in shortening until half done, add corn and cook until tender. Drain off as much shortening as possible, dust the whole with flour and add the milk. Cook about 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper and serve at once. This dish cannot be reheated as the milk will curdle. Tomato sauce may be used instead of milk, if desired. Serves 8.
A straightforward skillet dish of okra and corn, close to what the Gulf South calls a fresh-corn maque choux. Two of its quantities need adjusting for a modern pan.
- Pints of vegetablesA pint here is a volume measure of the prepared vegetable, not a weight: about 2 cups sliced okra (roughly 8 to 10 oz of whole pods) and 2 cups corn kernels, which is 3 to 4 medium ears.
- The cup of shorteningOne cup of fat for 4 cups of vegetables is far more than a nonstick or well-seasoned pan needs; 3 to 4 tablespoons of oil or butter will fry the okra properly. The recipe tells you to pour most of it off anyway.
- Flour is unmeasured"Dust the whole with flour" means enough to bind 1 cup of milk into a light sauce, about 2 tablespoons. Sprinkle it over the hot vegetables and stir for a minute before the milk goes in, or it will taste raw.
- Frying the okra firstThis is the hinge of the dish. Okra must hit hot fat dry and stay in a single uncrowded layer until the cut edges brown, which drives off the mucilage; add the corn or the milk too early and the whole pan turns ropy.
- "Half done"For sliced tender okra that is 4 to 5 minutes over medium-high heat, until the slices are browned at the edges and no longer squeaky. The corn then needs only 3 to 5 minutes more.
- Do not reheatThe warning is accurate: the flour binding is thin and the milk will break on a second heating. Make the volume you will eat, and use the tomato-sauce variation if you want leftovers.
- YieldEight servings as written means small side portions. As the main dish of a meatless meal it will feed four, with cornbread or rice.