PAN FRIED OKRA & SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS

Breakfast or brunch should always be rewarding, especially on Sundays; before the start of a hectic week. 

It's a norm in my household to either bake , create a recipe or treat ourselves to a decadent meal. 

This is an African & Asian inspired brunch that mixes Okra and Shitake mushrooms together. 

When I posted the picture of this brunch on my Instagram page, the reaction was of intrigue and curiosity. 

Comments from my Instagram page;

'Please look at this combo', 'Interesting', 'I never thought Okra, could be eaten this way, SMH, interesting'. 

Okra, when used in African dishes, are cooked to increase it's mucilagenous (goo texture) by adding water, stock, edible potash, bicarbonate of soda etc; whereby in most Asian dishes, they're fried to prevent activating its mucilage texture . 

Okra are also known as bhindi, ladies fingers, Fetri, Okro or Gumbo. Okra is rich in potassium, calcium, folate, Vitamin C and a great antioxidant. 

Try this easy to follow recipe,  leave a comment, share and subscribe to my blog and YouTube page 'Ndudu by Fafa'.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

24 sliced individual Okra

2 finely diced Banana shallots

2 sliced Jalapeño peppers 

2 cloves of peeled and sliced Garlic

2 tablespoonfuls of extra virgin Olive oil

400g of fresh Shitake mushrooms 

8 refrigerated eggs

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

Bresaola(An Italian air dried salted beef, thats aged for 3 months)

You can replace the Bresaola with smoky bacon).

150ml of light olive oil (for frying)

Freshly milled Guinea Pepper / Black peppercorns

Salt to taste

Guinea Pepper or Grains of Paradise

Method:

Place a frying pan on a medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of Olive oil 

Add half the finely diced shallot and fry for a minute. 

Shitake Mushrooms

Add the garlic, stir and add the mushrooms. 

Stir fry the mushrooms for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh thyme , a pinch of the milled Guinea pepper and salt. Stir fry for 45 seconds and take off the heat. 

Transfer the contents to a plate and return the frying pan to the fire. 

Still on a medium heat, add the remaining finely diced shallot and stir. 

Just when it starts to brown, add the sliced Okra, Jalapeño peppers, Cumin seeds and stir fry for about 3-4 minutes. 

Add salt to taste , sprinkle with freshly milled Guinea Pepper and set aside. 

Fried Eggs

Preheat the grill to 180*c 

Place the Bresaola on a baking tray and transfer to the preheated grill. 

Grill for 2-3 minutes or until crispy. 

Wipe the frying Pan and place it back on the fire at a very low setting. 

Take your eggs out of the fridge and crack each egg into the frying pan. 

Fry gently (on the lowest setting) for 4 minutes for a perfect runny yolk or (longer if you prefer a hardened yolk). However, this recipe requires the yolk to be runny, as it'll act as sauce to the dish.  

Tip

Applies to fried eggs only

Placing the egg in the fridge, allows the egg white to wrap around the yolk, when frying (as shown above).

To serve;

Scoop some of the Mushroom mix into a bowl and spread to the sides of the bowl. 

Then scoop some of the Okra mix and spread evenly.

Lay a crispy Bresaola on top of the vegetable mix. 

Carefully place a fried egg on top of the Bresaola.

Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. 

Tip;

Try buying Olive oil made from 'Arbequina' Olives. It gives the Olive oil an aromatic taste and it's delicious. I tasted this olive oil for the first time at, 'Restaurante Elkano' , Getaria, in Spain. 

I found a 500ml bottle at Waitrose for £16.00. (Safe to say , I use it sparingly). 

Sprinkle a pinch of freshly milled Guinea pepper(careful not to add to much, as it's rather spicy).

Alternatively , sprinkle with freshly milled black peppercorns.

Serve with freshly baked Baguette, Sour dough bread or Ciabatta. 

All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog. 

Conchiglioni Rigati with homemade Pesto

Ingredients

Pesto

55g of Basil

20g of Pine nuts

20g of Parmesan Cheese

A clove of garlic

2 teaspoon full of Olive oil

Half a teaspoon of Lemon juice

Salt

Pepper

Punnet of sliced Mushrooms

2 sprigs of Thyme (remove from the stalks)

1 diced Shallots

1 diced garlic

14 individual Conchiglioni Rigarti

2 teaspoonful of olive oil

A litre of water

Method

Using a saucepan bring the salted water to boiling point

Add the Conchiglioni Rigarti and follow the cooking instructions on the packet

Whilst the pasta is boiling, 

Using a pestle and mortar 

Add the basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and salt

Mix the ingredients together to a coarse texture

Scrape the mixture into a bowl

Grate the parmesan and add to the mixture

Using a fork mix everything together and taste.

Add the lemon juice for that extra kick 

Salt and pepper to taste.

Using a blender

Just place the basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, 

parmesan, lemon juice, salt and pepper into the blender

Using the low setting of your blender blitz the ingredient together into a coarse texture.

The course texture creates a crunch to the dish.

DON'T FORGET YOUR PASTA 

Quickly check your pasta is al dente 

Meaning it should have a bite (firm but not hard) and not over cooked.

In a frying pan, use a teaspoon of olive oil,

Add the diced shallots and cook on a low heat for 1 minute. 

Add the diced garlic and cook for a further 15 seconds

Then add the mushrooms

Using a spatula add a table spoon of juice from the pasta

Cook the mushrooms for 1 minute whilst tossing it. Then add the the thyme and cook for a further minute.

Drain your pasta and reserve some of your pasta juice in a small bowl

Just in case you need it.

Mix the pasta, mushroom and pesto in your saucepan

If the mixture is too thick, just add a teaspoon of the reserved juice

Add salt and pepper to taste and serve in a shallow bowl

Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice

Enjoy!