Cook this: Crispy okra slaw from Yawd

‘A lot of people are afraid of cooking with okra, but this dish is a great introduction,’ says chef Adrian Forte

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

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Our cookbook of the week is Yawd by Adrian Forte. Over the next two days, we’ll feature another recipe from the book and an interview with the author.

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To try another recipe from the book, check out: Caribbean-spiced steamed fish.

Before he created this slaw with friend and fellow chef Bashir Munye, Adrian Forte wasn’t much of an okra fan.

“I only used to put okra in steamed fish and in soups,” Forte recalls. But when he spent the summer of 2019 at Black Creek Community Farm to learn more about ancestral foods, that changed.

Seeing okra growing at the farm, they were inspired to highlight the vegetable in a dish at one of their events for the Afro-Caribbean community. And once Forte learned how healthful, heat- and drought-tolerant it is, he set out to encourage people to enjoy okra more often.

“I wanted to do something that will get people cooking with okra, take away that stigma of it being slimy,” says Forte, laughing.

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Forte and Munye served a version of this crispy okra slaw at one of the pop-up dinners they hosted at the farm, and it was a hit. “People loved it. They were going crazy,” says Forte. “I’ve been serving it ever since.”

Okra is a key ingredient in many cuisines, including Afro-Caribbean, Forte adds. As a result of his experience at Black Creek Community Farm, he has a new appreciation for it, using okra to make chips, pickles, sauces and stuffings.

“Now I just tell people when they’re like, ‘I don’t like okra.’ I’m like, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got a dish for you,’” says Forte. “And they’re always usually blown away. They’re like, ‘Wow, I didn’t think I could like okra.’”

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CRISPY OKRA SLAW

Prep: 10 min | Cook: 25 min

1 lb (450 g) okra
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp berbere spice (or smoked paprika)
1 medium tomato, cored, seeded, and julienned
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onions
About 1/2 cup tahini
Salt, to taste

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Step 2

Trim the okra by cutting away the stem ends and the tips — just the very ends. Then cut the okra in half lengthwise.

Step 3

Place the okra in a large bowl. Add the coconut oil and berbere and stir to coat the okra halves.

Step 4

Place the okra on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, shaking or stirring at least twice during the roasting time.

Step 5

Once the okra is golden brown and crispy, remove from the oven and add back to the mixing bowl.

Step 6

Add the tomatoes, parsley, lemon juice, red onions and a little of the tahini and mix well. Season with salt to taste, and more tahini as desired.

Serves: 4

Recipe and image excerpted from Yawd by Adrian Forte. Copyright ©2022 Adrian Forte. Photography by John Molina. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

‘A lot of people are afraid of cooking with okra, but this dish is a great introduction,’ says chef Adrian Forte

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

Article content

Our cookbook of the week is Yawd by Adrian Forte. Over the next two days, we’ll feature another recipe from the book and an interview with the author.

Article content

To try another recipe from the book, check out: Caribbean-spiced steamed fish.

Before he created this slaw with friend and fellow chef Bashir Munye, Adrian Forte wasn’t much of an okra fan.

“I only used to put okra in steamed fish and in soups,” Forte recalls. But when he spent the summer of 2019 at Black Creek Community Farm to learn more about ancestral foods, that changed.

Seeing okra growing at the farm, they were inspired to highlight the vegetable in a dish at one of their events for the Afro-Caribbean community. And once Forte learned how healthful, heat- and drought-tolerant it is, he set out to encourage people to enjoy okra more often.

“I wanted to do something that will get people cooking with okra, take away that stigma of it being slimy,” says Forte, laughing.

Article content

Forte and Munye served a version of this crispy okra slaw at one of the pop-up dinners they hosted at the farm, and it was a hit. “People loved it. They were going crazy,” says Forte. “I’ve been serving it ever since.”

Okra is a key ingredient in many cuisines, including Afro-Caribbean, Forte adds. As a result of his experience at Black Creek Community Farm, he has a new appreciation for it, using okra to make chips, pickles, sauces and stuffings.

“Now I just tell people when they’re like, ‘I don’t like okra.’ I’m like, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got a dish for you,’” says Forte. “And they’re always usually blown away. They’re like, ‘Wow, I didn’t think I could like okra.’”

Article content

CRISPY OKRA SLAW

Prep: 10 min | Cook: 25 min

1 lb (450 g) okra
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp berbere spice (or smoked paprika)
1 medium tomato, cored, seeded, and julienned
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onions
About 1/2 cup tahini
Salt, to taste

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Step 2

Trim the okra by cutting away the stem ends and the tips — just the very ends. Then cut the okra in half lengthwise.

Step 3

Place the okra in a large bowl. Add the coconut oil and berbere and stir to coat the okra halves.

Step 4

Place the okra on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, shaking or stirring at least twice during the roasting time.

Step 5

Once the okra is golden brown and crispy, remove from the oven and add back to the mixing bowl.

Step 6

Add the tomatoes, parsley, lemon juice, red onions and a little of the tahini and mix well. Season with salt to taste, and more tahini as desired.

Serves: 4

Recipe and image excerpted from Yawd by Adrian Forte. Copyright ©2022 Adrian Forte. Photography by John Molina. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.