New Series on Sauces and Great Foods

From left to right, spinach, okra, and peanut sauces at Soleil de Minuit located at 5148 Locust Street at South 51Street in Philadelphia, PA. The “okra sauce was also excellent, with a mild spice and none of the slime that okra’s known for,” says one reviewer.Okra sauce recipe below.

Today I am starting a new series on sauces. My wife suggested it following my purchase of a framed picture of multitude kinds of hot sauces from around the world that I bought for my new office. In the Fall I will be moving from Marist College in New York to Babson College in Massachusetts. Here is a 1774 description of an enslaved African garden in Surinam, South America. Englishmen John Gabriel Stedman tells us that African cooks made a delicious corn pudding there and they also" frequently ate young Pods of the okra . . . which when boil’d . . . makes a very good Sauce when properly Seasoned with Cayenne Pepper. . . . ” Here's a recipe for okra sauce.



Okra Sauce



Ingredients

1 pound fresh unblemished soft okra

2 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 habanero pepper, pricked with a fork

1 cup water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste



Method

Wash the okra; remove the tops and snip the tails. Place the okra, tomatoes, pepper and water in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the okra is fork-tender. Remove and discard the habanero pepper when the dish is hot enough for your taste. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot over rice. Serves 4.