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Okra is quite tasty added to gumbo.

In gumbo is great.

Be advised that it can get a little snotty (for lack of a better word) that's what thickens the gumbo. I've heard there are ways to de-slime okra if you plan to cook it in other ways.

I like it cut up cross-wise, rolled in a little cornmeal batter and then deep fried. But then everything tastes good deep fried, right? As an added bonus, no slime.

Growing up in western Colorado, there was a restaurant called Ferr's that had fried okra. Even as a little kid, I absolutely loved it, and now I crave it.

This looks like a promising recipe.

In Bulgaria we use that veg a lot. It'a an ingredient in one of my fav dish. Put some potatoes in cubes, carrots , peas, green peppers in a clay pot, add some cayenne pepper, oregano, olive oil and water and bake it for an hour in a medium oven to make a delicious stew.Okra should be added 20 min before stew is ready not to get snotty like mentioned above.Optionally any meat can be cooked along.

Saute in a hot pan with some garlic & a little oil. The slime will go away pretty quickly. then use as a topping on pizza!

Okra are known as lady fingers in Malaysia, where they are used in delicious sautes with tomatoes, onions & spices over rice. My Malaysian co-workers loved learning of the American name for one of their veggies!

Option 1: Slice 1/4" thick, dip in egg, then in seasoned cornmeal (I like a little hot pepper). Fry 'em up in plenty of oil. This method nearly eliminates the slime factor and is very tasty.

Option 2: Pickle 'em!

I was just introduced to eating them raw - cut off the top, slice in half, sprinkle with salt & pepper and eat. But fried and gumbo are always good.

I read an article yesterday about using okra. Don't have the link handy, but apparently okra curry is super tasty.

Oh, the article also mentioned using them as a childs craft by cutting them and using the star pattern as a stamp for things like stationary and tea towels.

here's a fantastic gumbo recipe...
http://sustainablediet.blogspot.com/2009/07/gumbo-success.html

or you can pickle okra, just as you would dill pickles: http://sustainablediet.blogspot.com/2008/07/preserving-bounty.html

Fried okra is best.

But whole okra, steamed tender/crisp is delicious. Speaking in generalities---use okra about the size of a woman's ring finger. Larger is NOT better. Do not boil, do not cut. Bite the whole okra down to the cap/stem. Yum. Serve with ice cold cherry tomatoes cut in half.

I love okra! The easiest way to prepare it is to slice it in half length-wise, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and put on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 20 min. Right before they're done, take them out and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. They're done when the slime is gone and they're slightly crispy like french fries.

Okra and tomatoes! It's really simple - just saute a little onion and garlic in a skillet until tender, then add the okra for 3-5 minutes. Then you can add in chopped fresh tomato or canned diced tomatoes and simmer until the okra is tender and the tomatoes are soft. Season it up with salt and pepper.

The acidity balances out okra's earthy flavor nicely.

I should probably mention, you slice the okra first :)

I made this soup with the first batch of okra that I got from my CSA and it was very tasty. Basically, (like tallsarah says) you fry or saute the okra first to minimize the snotty texture that jamjaree mentions.

I look forward to making this again with my latest batch of okra.

http://food.lizsteinberg.com/2009/08/21/tangy-tomato-okra-soup/