I have recently gathered a talented team of contributors for ToriAvey.com. I look forward to sharing their writing with you. Michael W. Twitty joins the team to explore African American and Southern foodways. Read more here. ~ Tori
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“It’s slimy,” people often say without thinking when you first bring up the topic of okra. Yes, okra is mucilaginous (the technical term for slimy), and no, it isn’t only good fried, as many people attest. Okra is actually a very versatile fresh, crisp vegetable that has a bad rap. The genus Abelmoschus has several cultivated species, but the one that crossed the Atlantic sometime in the sixteenth century was Abelmoschus esculentum. Related to cotton and other mallow family plants, okra is an ancient vegetable that originated in southern Ethiopia in far antiquity. It provides thickness and savor in the one-pot stews that are the basis of many traditional African diets.
Spreading across to Western Africa and down into the central part of the continent during the Bantu migrations around 2,000 BCE, okra has been a staple in African and African diaspora cuisine for a long time. It even crossed the ocean to Asia at an early date and spread with Islam to India, where it is called “ladies fingers.” About the same time okra was making its appearance in Brazil, the West Indies and later mainland North America, it made its way to China and the island of Macau where it bears one of its many African names—quilobo—from Angola. In fact, quilobo is one variant of the KiMbundu word quingombo, where we get the word “gumbo. From the Igbo language of southeastern Nigeria we get the vegetable’s English name, as okwuru became ochra and okra. Along the entire length of the 3,500 mile coast exploited by the trans-Atlantic slave trade, okra was grown and cooked with other vegetables or rice and made into soup.
Slave traders had a knack for studying and recording the lifeways of the African ethnic groups they sought through war and kidnapping. The ample primary sources that read as early ethnographies were really guides to inform contemporary traders about the ups and downs and ins and outs of enslaving and exporting specific ethnic groups and Africans from distinct regions. Understanding the food of the people you were enslaving was critical; it ensured they would be well fed on the perilous Middle Passage and when they arrived in the New World. Since most of the early trade went directly to cognate tropical areas on the other side of the ocean, a concerted effort was made to bring familiar food crops along that enslaved Africans could plant to remind them of home. Cruel a business as the slave trade was, it was still recognized that culinary homesickness was a great deterrent to the “seasoning” process.
In mainland North America, okra was one of the ultimate symbols of the establishment of the enslaved community as a culinary outpost of West Africa. Noted in Brazil in the 1500’s and in the West Indies throughout the 1600’s, okra was a relative latecomer to colonial America. Our best guess is that it came here at the start of the 18th century. Charleston and New Orleans were early hotbeds of okra cookery for certain, but okra was not confined to the Caribbean outposts of the Old South. Peter Kalm discussed okra in his American travels as a popular plant for soups among blacks and whites in the 1740’s. Thomas Jefferson lauded it as one of Virginia’s esteemed garden plants in the 1780’s, and references to okra can be found in garden records and maps across the early Mid-Atlantic, Chesapeake and Lower South.
For enslaved cooks, okra was a common thread in their mixed African heritage. To the Wolof people it was kanja, to the Mandingo, kanjo, to the Akan it was nkruman and to the Fon, fevi. Okra was most often prepared in a peppery stew that was eaten with rice, millet, hominy or corn mush. It was boiled with onions and tomatoes in a saucy preparation that was eaten in the same manner, or it was boiled on its own as a fresh vegetable. Okra with rice was called “limpin’ Susan,” the cousin dish to cowpeas and rice, or “Hoppin’ John.” It was also boiled up with cowpeas for another dish, fried in small pieces with the boiled leaves served as a leafy green.
Okra soups became signature and staple dishes throughout the South. It is hard to know where the family tree starts and where it stops. Some varieties of Kentucky burgoo and the Brunswick stew of the Southeastern coast contain bits of okra thrown in with the usual mix of tomatoes, onions and hot pepper. Okra soup thick with crab became Baltimore’s “crab gumbo” and Charleston and Savannah’s “rouxless gumbo,” while in New Orleans the roux made okra soup even thicker. Summer Louisiana gumbo came to mean okra gumbo flavored with chicken, seafood or whatever the seasons allowed. From Mary Randolph’s The Virginia Housewife and her “ochra soup,” to Lettice Bryan’s The Kentucky Housewife, Sarah Rutledge’s The Carolina Housewife and Mrs. B.C. Howard’s Fifty Years in a Maryland Kitchen, it is clear okra dishes passed from the hands of enslaved cooks into those of literate white ladies. These cookbook authors published their favorite versions, leaving us records of regional variations on this classic, ancient dish.
Here is a peppery, historically inspired recipe for Okra Soup. This version is based on recipes from the 19th century, especially those of Mary Randolph’s The Virginia Housewife (1824) and Mrs. B.C. Howard’s Fifty Years in A Maryland Kitchen (1881 edition). This simple DIY heirloom recipe has a few modern updates. The culinary trinity of hot pepper, tomato, and okra served with rice reinforce this soup’s connection to similar dishes found from Senegal to Angola, and Philadelphia to Bahia.
Interesting fact: Enslaved African Americans grew okra and parched the seeds to make a fake version of “coffee.” During the Civil War, it was common to sell this brew to white soldiers, Confederate and Yankee.
Recipe Photography and Styling by Tori Avey
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Okra Soup
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (lard would historically be used - we subbed olive oil to keep the recipe kosher and vegetarian)
- 1 small onion, diced and dusted with flour
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 cups vegetable broth (chicken or beef broth can also be used - we used vegetable broth to keep the recipe kosher and vegetarian)
- 3 cups water
- 28 ounces canned tomatoes with juice (or 3 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced)
- 2 cups fresh young okra cut into small, thin pieces, or frozen okra pieces
- 2 cups cooked rice, kept hot or warm (optional)
NOTES
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, heat the butter and oil until melted.
- Add the onion and finely chopped parsley and gently cook until onion is translucent and soft. Add the garlic and cook for a minute more until fragrant.
- Add the thyme, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes and cook for another minute or so.
- Add the broth, water and tomatoes and cook on a medium simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add the okra and cook for another 20-25 minutes, or until tender.
- Ladle into bowls over ¼ cup lump of warm rice each. Serve.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Research Sources
Carney, Judith and Richard Nicholas Rosomoff (2009). In the Shadow of Slavery: Africa’s botanical legacy in the Atlantic World. University of California Press. Berkeley, CA.
Grime, William E. (1979). Ethnobotany of the Black Americans. Reference Publications, Algonac, MI.
Hatch, Peter. (2012) “A Rich Spot of Earth”: Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden at Monticello. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
For more information, check out Michael’s entry on okra in the Encyclopedia of the Material Life of Slaves in the United States (2010), Martha B. Katz-Hyman and Kym S. Rice, editors. Greenwood Press, Santa Barbara, CA.
THK asks: Are you a fan of okra, or does the slimy texture make you squeamish?
Brenda J Lawson says
Super easy and tasty okra soup recipe. The next time I make this soup, I will use half the amount of butter.
Reine Persane says
I made it and am enjoying it. I actually have a conference call with a Nigerian colleague in a few minutes and feel inspired by all the comments to bring up the dish I made!! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe 🙂
Paul says
Wonderful soup. Love Okra, I grow my own okra in my farm and I have frozen them for later use. The soup is pretty easy to make and very delicious and nutritious. Thanks!
Akudo Akotaobi says
As a Nigerian girl that is not okra soup. Those are not the ingredients to make the soup except for onions but that’s if you want to use the onions.This was completely disrespectful to my culture and I.
Tori Avey says
Hi Akudo. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Michael Twitty, an African American culinary historian, wrote this post and shared this recipe. He never claimed this is Nigerian okra soup (or even African soup). As Michael stated above, “This version is based on recipes from the 19th century, especially those of Mary Randolph’s The Virginia Housewife (1824) and Mrs. B.C. Howard’s Fifty Years in A Maryland Kitchen (1881 edition). This simple DIY heirloom recipe has a few modern updates. The culinary trinity of hot pepper, tomato, and okra served with rice reinforce this soup’s connection to similar dishes found from Senegal to Angola, and Philadelphia to Bahia.” While connected to similar African dishes, this is an update of multiple historical American recipes, and that is clearly stated in the introduction to the recipe. If you read the post, he talks in depth about the African history of okra and its connection to African American foodways, but never claims this is an African soup.
Peace iheukwumere says
Hello, as a African girl I am telling you right now that this is not how you make the soup. This is a disgrace and you are giving people a wrong recipe to make our cultural food. I don’t know who your source is but it’s not ours. THIS IS NOT REAL OKRA SOUP!!! This is complete disrespect! You can change the recipe but don’t call it okra soup and put talk about African history.
Tori Avey says
Please read my response to Akudo above.
Aileen Wolfe-Goldhirsh says
I can’t eat tomatoes, so I made a different version and substituted some vegetables for the tomatoes. All else, I kept the same. It is a delicious soup and I would not have thought of using okra until someone mentioned using it to me. I also added some adzuki beans at the end for extra protein to make it a one pot dish. I like your use of thyme and the other spices. It gave it a really nice taste. Fascinating article.
Pauline says
Thank you for the recipe. It is easy to make and delicious! It’s a keeper.
Brant Morrison says
Mr. Twitty,
So glad to run across your writing here! I first learned of you through your appearance on youtube with Jas. Townsend. & Co.
I have been searching for an okra soup recipe and I will give your version a try with some modifications. I am thinking of adding some chopped celery and a bell pepper, though not mentioned in your recipe. I just happen to have the ingredients on hand and I’d like to use them while I can.
JaimieLorai says
Coming from one of the oldest slave families in Charleston, the concept of Okra soup is a common staple in our diets and history. We were taught by the older generation, about making Okra soup, Historically during slavery during the holidays, when the gift of meat parts were given to slaves, spare part that the slave owners did not mind parting with of course, the addition of meat was a treat. The use of the fats and old seasoned oils were used when meat was not available. It is a hearty soup that when loaded with smoked meats, bacon pieces and ham, pretty much makes up a combo and a complete meal,of course with the geechee rice!
donnagail says
I heard somewhere that there is often a reason certain foods are eaten together—because they complement each other in some biochemical way—and that, interestingly enough, those foods are paired together in traditional dishes, almost like our forefathers knew about this complex biochemical link modern science would later discover. Okra and tomatoes is supposedly one of those. Do you know anything about this? Why they complement one another and historically how they came to be cooked together?
Cindy Lirette says
Absolutely! I agree 100%. Usually foods grown or raised to compliment each other in nature, for a reason. Tomatoes naturally pairs well with okra and spinache. Lemon juice also “freshen” tomatoe sauce , or tomatoes . It balances the acidity in the tomatoes. Olives , and cheeses , neutralizes your palate and pairs well with wines, especially when taste testing, Certain meats compliment wines as well, and on and on. Salted meats pair with dark leafy greens or okra .
Donna says
I’ve been looking for a recipe for okra soup forever because my South Carolina Grandmother made it. But truth be told, she and my other grandmothers didn’t use recipes. They just threw the food in the pot. The ingredients may have always been the same, but really they never fixed it the same way twice. Still I’ll try this recipe cause I just love me some okra. It along with greens speaks to me. I believe the reason we have so much illness in the African-American community is we’ve gotten away from eating food that is good for us. Instead we eat too much processed food, carry out, etc. That, plus many of us don’t know how to cook from scratch.
Jeffrey H. says
In Trinidad and Tobago, there is a soup we make called callaloo It is made with dasheen (taro) leaves, okra, coconut milk sautéd onions, garlic, pimentos and culantro. It often flavored with crab and or cured pig’s tails. It is delicious. It can be made with basically any greens. I often make it with beets greens and spinach.
Jonathan B. Horen says
My favorite is steamed okra, along with red potatoes, carrots, and onions. I like it cooked up in a stew, as well; in fact, I’m cooking a large pot of chicken-vegetable stew right now, to which I added half-a-pound of cut-up okra and two huge beefsteak tomatoes, coarsely chopped.
Shabbat Shalom!
Phil Ramsey says
LOVE okra, in Pepper Pot soup and any gumbo
Margaret Ward says
Excellent recipe used herb stock cube as have no access to fresh.
Barbara DiBartolo says
From my mother I learned to bake sliced okra with chopped onion & a can of tomato sauce in a covered 13 x 9 pan at 375 degrees for an hour. The baking method prevents most of the sliminess if not all! It works for the bags of frozen sliced okra from the freezer of the grocery store or our home-grown okra. When cooled completely place in zip-lock bags and freeze. Defrost when needed to cook a little longer for a side dish or add to soups and gumbos. Fish gumbo with parsley rice is my most requested Shabbat meal by family and friends.
Edith says
I am a Sephardic Jew…my grandparents were from the Greek
Island of Rhodes. Our recipe for okra removes all the “slime”.
We cook the okra on top of the stove with garlic, tomatoes, onions, and lemon juice. Then we put the pan in the oven for
About 20 minutes and it dries the okra out…makes it a completely different vegetable!
Renee says
Hi Edith, my grandparents are also from Rhodes. We make bamia (okra) all the time as you wrote but I never heard about the 20 minutes in the oven. Genius. Can’t wait to try!
Cindy Legorreta says
As an Italian lady with a Mexican hubby from NOLA, our kitchen is a delightful ‘mash-up’ of this that and the other. I love using dried beans, hambones, okra, plenty of garlic, hot peppers, or..frying up a mess of catfish in bacon grease with chunks of yam, and then – sitting down to enjoy it with good friends. Believe it or not, some of the best okra I ever found was at a stand run by an Islamic fruit peddler. I came home with the okra he sold me, and made this sublime mix of black eyed peas, ham chunks and okra over rice. Heaven. I think, to really enjoy food you have to be open to new tastes. Yes..okra is ‘slippery..” but it’s also delicious. And classifies we who love it as The Culinary Coolsters!!
agyei boateng samuel says
i really enjoy it
Anna says
This soup is pretty much the gumbo we make in my family. Substitute a bit of creole seasoning (red, black and white pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, salt) and add some seafood and presto! With or without file powder (ground sassafrass leaves), it’s delicious.
In recent years with the price of seafood going up and the quality going down, I’ve made it with chicken thighs instead, using a bit of O’doul’s low alcohol beer as part of the liquid. Very,very tasty.
Tori Avey says
Sounds great Anna!