Okra

Serves 6 to 8

This recipe comes courtesy of Dr. Jessica B. Harris, as part of her Netflix series High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America. 

Ingredients

  • 24 mussels (or frozen on the half-shell)
  • 3 quarts fish or vegetable stock
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 medium yellow onions, roughly chopped
  • 3 or 4 tablespoons fish sauce (as a substitute for fermented conch called “yeett”)
  • 1 Scotch bonnet
  • 16 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 8 oz lump crabmeat, picked over for any shells
  • 6 tablespoons palm oil
  • 8 cups thinly-sliced okra
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Cooked fonio or rice, to serve

Directions

  1. If using fresh mussels: place the mussels in a colander in the sink under running water. Scrub with a clean brush to remove grit. Gently try to close any open mussels with your fingers or gently tap the open mussels on a counter; discard any that do not close. Sometimes, the mussel comes with a “beard.” To remove it, grab it with your fingers and pull it out. You can also use a knife.
  2. Bring the stock to a boil in a 6 quart saucepan over high heat, then add the bay leaves and onions. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the stock has reduced by one-quarter, about 20 minutes.
    Add the fish sauce and the chiles to the broth. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
  3. Add the mussels and shrimp. Cover the pan and cook until the mussels open and shrimp are cooked through, about 4 minutes. Discard any mussels that have not opened by this time.
  4. Add the crabmeat and palm oil. Cook for approximately 2 more minutes.
  5. Add okra and stir once. Cook at a simmer for 10 more minutes.
  6. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and serve over fonio or rice.

Title image: flickr // dogolaca // license

CIA FOODIES

Soupou Kanja (Seafood and Okra Stew)

Okra
Serves 6 to 8 This recipe comes courtesy of Dr. Jessica B. Harris, as part of her Netflix series High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America. 

Title image: flickr // dogolaca // license

Ingredients

  • 24 mussels (or frozen on the half-shell)
  • 3 quarts fish or vegetable stock
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 medium yellow onions, roughly chopped
  • 3 or 4 tablespoons fish sauce (as a substitute for fermented conch called "yeett")
  • 1 Scotch bonnet
  • 16 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 8 oz lump crabmeat, picked over for any shells
  • 6 tablespoons palm oil
  • 8 cups thinly-sliced okra
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Cooked fonio or rice, to serve

Directions

  1. If using fresh mussels: place the mussels in a colander in the sink under running water. Scrub with a clean brush to remove grit. Gently try to close any open mussels with your fingers or gently tap the open mussels on a counter; discard any that do not close. Sometimes, the mussel comes with a "beard." To remove it, grab it with your fingers and pull it out. You can also use a knife.
  2. Bring the stock to a boil in a 6 quart saucepan over high heat, then add the bay leaves and onions. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the stock has reduced by one-quarter, about 20 minutes. Add the fish sauce and the chiles to the broth. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
  3. Add the mussels and shrimp. Cover the pan and cook until the mussels open and shrimp are cooked through, about 4 minutes. Discard any mussels that have not opened by this time.
  4. Add the crabmeat and palm oil. Cook for approximately 2 more minutes.
  5. Add okra and stir once. Cook at a simmer for 10 more minutes.
  6. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and serve over fonio or rice.

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