In season: Okra

Okra has been a part of Southern culture for generations: mixed in gumbo, fried to a crisp or stewed with tomatoes and served over rice. It’s a good source of fiber, vitamin C, calcium and potassium, and a half-cup serving (if you don’t fry it) has only 31 calories.

Matt Fleming of HaydenGrove Farms in Locust Grove is harvesting okra from 3,000 plants this year. He’s sticking with Clemson Spineless, a 1939 All-America Selections winner that’s probably the most popular okra for the southeastern United States.

He sells his okra, and other vegetables, at the Marietta Square Farmers Market on Saturdays, Whistle Stop Market in Norcross on Tuesdays and the Henry County Farmers Market in McDonough on Thursdays.

His customers come back week after week for okra, and Fleming is out there picking okra every other day, if not every day, to be sure the pods he brings to market are small and tender.

Georgia okra is available from July until November or when the first frost kills the tall, tough plants. A member of the hibiscus and cotton family, okra blossoms are a beautiful yellow with maroon centers. It’s a wonder we haven’t developed a tradition of eating the blossoms the way the Italians do with their zucchini flowers.

What we do eat is the immature seed pod. You definitely want to stay away from pods that are getting mature; something about 4 1/2 inches long is about maximum length. If refrigerated, freshly picked okra will keep about 10 days. One pound of okra will make 4 servings.

Fleming says many of his customers are looking for recipes that don’t involve frying. He and his wife, Emily, like to grill okra, making a roasting pan of aluminum foil and cooking the okra whole, tops and all, on the grill, just adding a little butter, salt and pepper. They also skewer the okra and brush it with a little olive oil, then grill it like a kebab.

“We definitely don’t boil it,” he said. “That’s when it gets slimy and the kids just won’t eat it.” Fleming also noted this is the first year he’s starting to hear people talk about eating their okra raw.

If you happen to acquire a bounty of okra, freeze it by blanching the okra, whole or sliced, in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, and then immediately cooling.

What’s happening at local farmers markets

For sale this week:

Fruit: Apples, Asian pears, Concord grapes, figs, muscadines

Vegetables and herbs: Arugula, Asian greens, basil, beans, beets, broccoli, cucumbers, edamame, eggplant, garlic, kale, lettuce, micro greens, mushrooms, okra, onions, Southern peas, peppers, potatoes, spaghetti squash, summer squash, sweet potatoes, winter squash

Events this week:

Cooking demos:

9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 25

Chef Carvel Gould, Canoe

Morningside Farmers Market

For information: www.morningsidemarket.com

10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 25

Chef Scott Serpas, Serpas Restaurant

Peachtree Road Farmers Market

For information: www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com

From local reports

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Brunswick Salad

Hands on: 15 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

Recipes for Brunswick Stew are some of the most frequent requests we get at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Here’s a delicious summer variation, adapted from a recipe Chef David Larkworthy of Five Seasons Brewery demonstrated at the Morningside Farmers Market this July. The okra in this recipe is raw, and it’s delicious. But here’s a tip: Don’t expect this salad to keep. The okra is fresh and crisp when first cut, but after a day in the refrigerator, it starts to exude that sap that makes it such a great thickener, and that’s not a texture you want in your Brunswick Salad.

3/4 (three-quarters) cup diced potatoes

2 ears corn, broken in half

1/2 (one-half) cup field peas

1/2 (one-half) pound okra, thinly sliced

1/2 (one-half) cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, minced

2 tablespoons barbecue sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon dry mustard powder

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon hot sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 cups 1/2-inch (one-half) diced tomatoes

1/2 (one-half) sweet onion, thinly sliced

1 serrano pepper, seeded and minced

1 pound slow-cooked or barbecued pork

In a small saucepan, bring salted water to a boil and cook potatoes until done, about 15 minutes. Strain out potatoes and set aside. Cook corn in the same water for 5 minutes. Drain and allow to cool, then cut kernels off the cob.

While potatoes are cooking, in another small saucepan, bring salted water to a boil and cook field peas until done, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. While peas are cooking, slice okra.

In a 1-pint screw-top jar, make vinaigrette by combining olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, barbecue sauce, honey, vinegar, mustard powder, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic and lemon juice. Shake well to combine; taste for seasoning. Set aside.