I was intrigued when my friend, Chinwe, first told me about ‘white okro’ – stir-fried and cooked without any palm oil. It has gone on to become a firm favourite, not least because of the speed at which it can be prepared.
Serves: 4-6
With its low oil content, this dish should appeal to people on a low fat diet. Substitute the seafood with any white-fleshed fresh fish or with chicken to reduce the cholesterol levels. Pork may be also be used. The natural ‘draw’ of the soup is considerably cut down due to the use of onions. I have not used crayfish or dried fish in this version as I feel that they overwhelm the delicate flavour of the seafood. However, both may be added to taste as can boiled stockfish .
Ingredients
- 1kg fresh okro, washed
- 2 red bell peppers, about 360g, seeded and quartered
- 1 large Scotch Bonnet chilli, about 16g
- 2 onions, about 240g, peeled and roughly diced
- 250g fresh prawns, shelled (tail on) and veined
- 300g prepared mussels (discard any which will not close when lightly tapped)
- 800g firm white fish such as cod or haddock, cut into medium sized pieces
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 150 ml water or vegetable/fish stock
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Top and tail the okro, roughly chop into medium chunks or rounds and set aside.
- Using a liquidiser, pulse the bell peppers and the Scotch Bonnet chilli to a fairly coarse mixture (without adding water).
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat and fry the onions until they are translucent. Add the bell pepper mixture and fry for 5 minutes.
- Turn down the heat and add the chopped okra, mix thoroughly and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring all the time. Add the water or stock and bring to a boil. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Turn down the heat and layer the rest of the ingredients as follows: place the fish on top of the okro, followed by the prawns and then the mussels. Add a little bit more water if necessary. Cover and leave to steam for 10 minutes or so, until the prawns and mussels are cook. Discard any unopened mussels. Gently mix all the ingredients together to avoid breaking up the fish.
- Serve with plain boiled rice or any fufu. Shown here with eba.