Pan-fried okra with tomato, olives and haloumi

Name: Pan-fried okra with tomato, olives and haloumi
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 2 h
Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve; 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; ¾ tsp ground cumin; ½ tsp paprika; 1 tbsp harissa; 1 tbsp cider vinegar; 1 tsp caster sugar; 400g okra, trimmed (but not so far so that you expose the seeds, see headnote), or frozen baby okra, defrosted; 180g cherry tomatoes (about 15), sliced in half; 70g pitted Kalamata olives; 120g haloumi cheese (or feta, as an alternative), broken into roughly 1cm chunks; 1 tsp Salt; 1 green chilli, thinly sliced; 5g parsley, roughly chopped; 1 lemon, cut into wedges

4 steps

Prep:1hCook:1h

This is a dish with bold flavours, which is quick and easy to make. It works as well as a main – served with bread or rice – as it does as a side or as part of a spread. Getting ahead: This is a quick and easy dish but you can make it a few hours in advance, if you like, up to the point before it goes under the grill. That way you can just finish it off in the oven for 10 minutes grilling before serving. Ingredients note / playing around: If you see bags of small frozen okra in a Middle Eastern supermarket, do get hold of these. Not needing to be trimmed, smaller okra don’t run the risk of their seeds being exposed (which is what gives okra its reputation for being ‘slimy’). Starting with regular okra is absolutely fine, though: trim the tips but not so far that you can see the seeds.

Updated at: Wed, 16 Aug 2023 16:19:33 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Good

Glycemic Index

Low

Glycemic Load

Low

Nutrition per serving

Calories292.8 kcal (15%)

Total Fat23.9 g (34%)

Carbs14.6 g (6%)

Sugars7 g (8%)

Protein10.5 g (21%)

Sodium1485.8 mg (74%)

Fiber4.4 g (16%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

4 servings

3 Tbspolive oil

plus extra to serve

4garlic cloves

thinly sliced

¾ tspground cumin

½ tsppaprika

1 Tbspharissa

1 Tbspcider vinegar

1 tspcaster sugar

400gokra

trimmed, but not so far so that you expose the seeds, or frozen baby okra, defrosted

180gcherry tomatoes

sliced in half

70gpitted Kalamata olives

120ghaloumi cheese

or feta, as an alternative, broken into roughly 1cm chunks

1 tspsalt

TO SERVE

Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to a 250°C grill setting.

Step 2

Put the olive oil into a large ovenproof frying or sauté pan, about 28cm wide, and place on a medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for just under a minute, or until it starts to colour.

Step 3

Add the cumin, paprika and shatta and cook for 30 seconds, then add the vinegar, sugar, 60ml of water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil, then add the okra and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add the tomatoes, olives and haloumi to the pan and cook for another 2–3 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time so that things don’t get stuck to the base.

Step 4

Place the pan directly under the grill for 10 minutes: you want the cheese and okra to take on lots of colour and even blister in parts. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes before serving, with the chilli, parsley and a good drizzle of oil on top and the wedges of lemon alongside.