Okra

Gombo

What it is

The word gumbo comes from ki ngombo, the Bantu name for the pod, which crossed the Atlantic with enslaved West Africans along with the plant itself. The mucilage cooks either want or fear is a soluble fibre held in the seed cavity, and it is released only once the pod is cut and wetted.

In the kitchen

To thicken a stew, slice it; to keep it firm, leave the pods whole and sear them dry in a hot pan for four minutes before any liquid goes in. A spoon of vinegar or tamarind also cuts the slime.

Goes with

Tomato Onion Garlic Chili pepper Shrimp Cumin Coriander seed Rice

Also used with

Carolina Gold rice Filé powder Fonio Gagome kombu Rice paddy herb (ngò om) Red palm oil (dendê)

In season alongside

Cucumber Frisée Gernika pepper Green bean Lettuce Pak choi

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