Roasted Okra and Roasted Okra Fries

After making our gumbo, we had a bit of okra left over.  In the NFL Sunday Football spirit, I decided to try out two okra recipes: oven-roasted okra and oven-roasted okra fries. To be honest, both sounded delicious and I couldn't decide which to make, so I made both! Begin with some washed okra and patted dry with a paper towel.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

To prepare the oven-roasted okra (pictured on left): cut the ends of the okra off and drizzle some olive oil, salt and pepper.
To prepare the oven-roasted okra fries (pictured on right): keep ends of okra on, but just slice in half, lengthwise. Do not add any oil or seasonings.

Cook in oven for 10-15 minutes, or until desired crispiness.  Remove from oven and add salt to okra fries to taste.

Results:  The oven-roasted okra fries tasted almost like fried okra, but without the calories.  They were fairly crispy and NOT soggy at all from the "slime" usually in okra.  The oven really dried out most of the moisture because they were cut in half.  The oven-roasted okra was also delicious.  It did retain some moisture, but was not too soft.  It had that oven-roasted taste (which the fries didn't) and the seeds would almost pop in your mouth.  Quite tasty!