Aug 1, 2013

Okra Fritters w/ Creamy Remoulade Sauce {Mezze Madness w/ I Heart Cooking Clubs}

Almost the entire summer has passed without much of anything Cajun, Creole, or southern appearing on the blog.  Does it matter?  Probably not.  But I have some guilt each time I look at my masthead.
 

I just haven't felt it.  And I have to feel it to write about it.  No sparks.  No epiphanies.  No brilliance.

Still no epiphanies or brilliance, but when I found this Spicy Okra Fritter recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi there was a spark.

Love it or hate it, summer in the south means tons of okra.  It's one of the few things that will keep on chuggin through the heat.  Using the Spicy Okra Fritter recipe as a guide, I put a little south Louisiana into it by nixing the exotic spices and flavoring my fritters with Tony's Creole Seasoning and hot sauce.

Then it came to me...making a creamy Creole remoulade for dipping.
Ok.  That was brilliance.


I had trouble with some of the ingredient quantities--particularly the water.  As the original recipe is written, the batter was much too thick and I had to double the water.  Overall, these fritters were good.  Would make them again.  The recipe doesn't have a high yield, but the fritters are dense so you aren't going to be eating a lot.

Mezze Madness is our theme @ I Heart Cooking Clubs this week.  Even though I made the Okra Fritters as a side dish for Shrimp Etouffee, they would also be good as an appetizer.

IHCC Ottolenghi Leek Badge resized


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Okra Fritters w/ Creamy Remoulade Sauce
inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi's Spicy Okra Fritters

18-20 small, tender okra pods, thinly sliced crosswise, ends trimmed
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Tony's Creole Seasoning
¾ tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
½ tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
a few shakes of hot sauce (to taste)
About 2/3 cup cold water
Vegetable oil, for frying

Start heating about 1/2" of vegetable oil in a large skillet.

Place sliced okra in a large bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients except for the water, hot sauce and oil.  Mix.  Add the hot sauce and slowly stir in the water until a batter forms.  The batter should not be runny, but should be spoonable.

When the oil is hot, spoon mounds (about serving spoon size) of the batter into the pan  Cook until golden brown, carefully turn, and cook until the second side is golden.  Serve as is or with creamy remoulade sauce (below).


Creamy Remoulade Sauce

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoons vinegar
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
2 Tablespoons Creole mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2-3 Tablespoons green onions, finely chopped
1 Tablespoons parsley, minced

Thoroughly whisk the first 7 ingredients (through paprika).  Stir in the celery, green onion, and parsley.  Refrigerate--better if made ahead.

 Also linking with:
Who Needs a Cape?  Linky MyMeatlessMondays
Memories by the Mile
 Hearth and Soul blog hop at Premeditated Leftovers Feeding Big
Love Bakes Good Cakes
nap-time creations
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Freedom Fridays

15 comments:

  1. I love okra! Yummy in my tummy...

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  2. I L-O-V-E okra|
    Almost in any way you cock/fry or bake it.
    I'm not familiar with this sauce though but I think I'm going to like it

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  3. This looks good! I am all for fritters! And I love okra, so I would happily munch a plateful of this! The sauce sounds delicious!

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  4. Isn't it funny how some regions of the country can be loaded down with certain foods and other regions can be completely ignorant of that food? In the Northeast, okra is considered an exotic. People just don't seem to know what to do with it or how to grow it! I love eating it, but that slippery feel when you're working with cut okra is kinda creepy. These fritters do look awesome, especially with that remoulade!

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  5. Oh man! I wish I hadn't just used my okra up or else this would have definitely been on the menu.

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  6. Okra is something I've eaten and enjoyed but have never cooked myself. Those delicious-looking fritters look like something I could tackle.

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  7. Sometimes you just gotta bring it all back to where it started. I really like how you did away with the exotic and added Tony's. Plus, the remoulade is definitely a genius pairing! In fact, I dare say this dish is all about the remoulade. My fritter would be loaded down.

    P.S. The consistency on the fritters looks right on! I think you nailed the consistency by adding extra water.

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  8. These look like delectable little morsels! And just love the sound of that dipping sauce...heaven indeed! I have never cooked with okra before so these could well be the excuse I need for my first foray :)

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  9. I've never eaten okra - very rarely available in my part of the world. I love that Ottolenghi gave you the inspiration, but that you totally took this in your own direction - that's what cooking is all about for me. As for the sauce, I'm pretty sure I could just eat a bowl of that all on its own!!

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  10. Ooh, a brilliant idea for Okra, pinning this now! Just stopping by from Tasty Tuesdays by the way!

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  11. Love okra and haven't had my fill of it yet this summer! It's not exactly growing well around here for some reason. I'll get my hands on a mess and try this!

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  12. I only recently tasted okra for the first time (when I was in Israel) and I loved it! You don't see it very often in England, but you can get it in a few select stores. I'd really like to find some and make these fritters. They sound delicious, and that lovely sauce, oh my! Thank you for sharing this delicious dish with us at Hearth and Soul.

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  13. I love okra, but do not really have a great way to prepare it. These look yummy! I'll have to try them!

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  14. What would Evelyn Do?? She would gobble all this right up!!

    Hugs:))

    PS On my way to share on FB

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  15. This is gorgeous!

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Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your comments.