Grilling okra is perhaps the simplest way to prepare one of the weirder members of the vegetable kingdom. The insides are moist (but not slimy) and the outsides get a little crispy, giving you a bit of that fried okra crunch infused with smokiness from the grill. Without all the hassle and the grease of fried okra.

And the best part, your house doesn’t smell like you fried a pair of old running shoes.

We paired those crispy, smokey okra pods with some Jalapeno-Cilantro Ranch Dressing as a dipper. You cannot go wrong with ranch dressing and you certainly cannot go wrong with ranch that has been dressed up with jalapeno, lime, and cilantro.

It’s important to use small pods, 4-inches and less. Large okra pods are tough and stringy and not fit for grilling (or buying) – have you ever imagined what it would be like to grill burlap? Even the ranch won’t help. The original recipe recommended pods that were 2 inches or less which, unless you grow okra, is actually a pretty unreasonable requirement. I found the shorter pods up to ~4 inches came out fine.

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Grilled Okra

Okra pods get a summer makeover on the grill with this simple recipe.

Ingredients

• Okra pods, up to ~4 inches long
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Jalapeno-Cilantro Ranch Dressing (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat your grill to high.
2. Using a paring knife, cut the okra pods in half, lengthwise, leaving the pods connected at the top near the stem.
3. Lightly spray or drizzle with olive oil and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
4. Place over direct heat on the grill ~4 minutes, rotating and cooking for another 3-4 minutes.
5. Pull off the grill and serve hot with your favorite ranch dressing dipper on the side.

Notes

Yields: Servings vary

Adapted from Food & Wine, May 2012

Estimated time: 20 minutes