Roasted Okra, Eggplant and Cherry Tomatoes

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This is a story about chance meetings and Roasted Okra, Eggplant and Tomatoes. I stumbled upon a beautiful market stand in front of the  Franklin Whole Foods on Sunday night.  I love Whole Foods for allowing various farmers to bring their products and set up a stand outside in front of the store.

Roasted Okra, Eggplant

It was a moment of good fate for both of us,  as I was looking for fresh, local kale and they had just picked it that morning. They were looking for their last customer to take it as it was 7:00 p.m. and they were packing up.

There is  something that reaches my soul when I can talk to the person who was responsible for my food from the seed to the money exchange and they want me to love what they have grown as much as they do. One look at the way they carefully arranged their table with burlap decorations and  food in pretty baskets,  I knew they were special folks, and I would have to purchase more than kale.

How to Make Roasted Okra Eggplant and Tomatoes from Spinach Tiger

But, okra, please not okra. I don’t know this vegetable very well and my experiences were never good ones.

.Everyone knows about the potential slime inside. They sweetly assured me that if I cut it according to their directions and roasted it with some baby eggplant and maybe even some cherry tomatoes, I would be able to see okra in a different light.

They were so committed to me wanting to experience okra in a good way, I was offered to take some home to try at no charge.  How could I not want to try okra now. However, I insisted to pay (which was mere pennies) and bought baby eggplant and some cherry tomatoes. I left with a  fond memory of the time they took with me, even though they were anxious to pack up and go.

I followed their cutting and roasting instructions,  and to my surprise the last of the summer vegetables created a delicious dish seemingly more Autumn. I used fresh thyme from my garden, but I could see a bit of sage or rosemary making its way into this dish too.

Everything about this story encapsulates my viewpoint about food. It’s more than eating. It’s an understanding of the commitment that begins at planting of the first seed and ends at the passion to transform the harvest into something delicious and life giving. And, if along the way, friendships are formed and the prepared dish still resembles the freshly picked crop,  life feels right, balanced and good.

Roasted Okra and Eggplant is super easy and makes a wonderful side dish. You can further amp it up by adding in some roasted potatoes.

This is not so much a recipe as an approach, but still worthy to share with you.

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How to Make Roasted Okra and Eggplant from Spinach Tiger
Print Recipe
3.28 from 18 votes

Roasted Okra, Eggplant and Cherry Tomatoes

Roasted Okra, Eggplant and Tomatos
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Vegetable Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4
Author: Angela Roberts

Ingredients

  • 10 okra
  • 5 Baby Eggplant
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 10 cherry tomatoes
  • olive oil
  • sea salt black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
  • dash of balsamic vinegar

Instructions

  • Chop off tips of okra and eggplant
  • Slice okra crosswise
  • Slice eggplant down center and then crosswise in same size as okra. If okra, cut in half is 2 inches, match the eggplant and cut in 2 inch pieces.
  • Arrange in shallow baking dish with 3 cloves of garlic.
  • Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper
  • Roast for 10 minutes. Toss. Add in tomatoes. Roast for another 10 minutes, checking at 5 minute intervals. You may need more or less time.
  • Toss with a dash of balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with fresh thyme.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

You can add the tomatoes in right from the beginning if you prefer. As far as knowing when the dish is done, the garlic should be spreadable and this deserves some crusty bread.

Please follow me on instagram. If you make this recipe,  please tag me #spinachtiger.

If you love this recipe, please give it five stars. It means a lot. xoxo

 

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12 Comments

  1. 3 stars
    I tried it and it looked great in the plate, but the flavor was not what I expected. To be fair, it’s the end of summer and my eggplant may have been a bit more bitter than usual.

  2. the liver and okra out the window – the best story! Flying liver is a funny visual. YOUR BLOGS ARE FANDARNTASTIC!

  3. Of all the veggies in the world okra is the least favorite..no I hate that ugly veg and I rememebr when I was in Spain as a little girl I was served okra and liver. I threw it out the window…it hit a person on the head and I had to eat okra and liver for breakfast lunch and dinner for a day and never forgot it. This was over 50 years ago.

    Mixing it with eggplant might work for me or not.

    Really enjoyed this post and I am sorry for my comment…just had to share…;D

  4. Beautiful, truthful post Angela. Thanks for reminding us that, yes, there are things that move us along. And of course there should be a committed approach to new (and old) foods, even okra. We’ve never roasted okra before; it has only been stewed or fried. This is perfect!

3.28 from 18 votes (17 ratings without comment)

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