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Savor the South Cookbooks
Okra: a Savor the South cookbook
Passionate okra lovers crave this bright green, heat-loving vegetable, whether fried, grilled, steamed, roasted, boiled, broiled, pickled, raw, whole, sliced, or julienned. With "Okra," Virginia Willis provides "the key that unlocks the door of okra desire" to okra addicts and newcomers to the pod alike.
Topping eight feet, with gorgeous butter-yellow flowers that ripen into the plant's signature seed-filled pods, okra has a long association with foodways in the American South. But as Willis shows, okra is also an important ingredient in cuisines across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Featuring gardening tips, a discussion of heirloom varieties, and expert cooking directions (including a list of "top ten slime-busting tips"), "Okra" brilliantly showcases fifty delectable recipes: twenty-six southern dishes, ranging from Southern-Style Fried Okra to Gulf Coast Seafood Gumbo, and twenty-four authentic global dishes, from Moroccan Lamb and Okra Tagine with Preserved Lemons to Cuban Pork with Yellow Rice, Okra, and Annatto Oil.
Topping eight feet, with gorgeous butter-yellow flowers that ripen into the plant's signature seed-filled pods, okra has a long association with foodways in the American South. But as Willis shows, okra is also an important ingredient in cuisines across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Featuring gardening tips, a discussion of heirloom varieties, and expert cooking directions (including a list of "top ten slime-busting tips"), "Okra" brilliantly showcases fifty delectable recipes: twenty-six southern dishes, ranging from Southern-Style Fried Okra to Gulf Coast Seafood Gumbo, and twenty-four authentic global dishes, from Moroccan Lamb and Okra Tagine with Preserved Lemons to Cuban Pork with Yellow Rice, Okra, and Annatto Oil.
120 pages, Hardcover
First published March 10, 2014
3 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Virginia Willis
25 books16 followersVirginia Willis is a James Beard award-winning cookbook author, television personality, content creator, motivational speaker, and social media influencer.
Georgia born French-trained chef Virginia Willis has foraged for berries in the Alaskan wilderness, harvested capers in the shadow of a smoldering volcano in Sicily, and beguiled celebrities such as Jane Fonda, Bill Clinton, Morgan Freeman, and Julie Chrisley with her cooking.
She is a chef instructor for the streaming service Food Network Kitchen as well as a James Beard award-winning cookbook author. Her books include Secrets of the Southern Table, Lighten Up, Y’all, Bon Appétit, Y’all, Basic to Brilliant, Y’all, Okra, and Grits.
Beginning in 2019 Virginia lost 65 pounds and has kept if off for over two years. In 2022, her health journey has been documented in Eating Well magazine, as a cover story for Woman’s World, and in the August issue of All Recipes magazine.
Virginia has embraced her new outlook on life and has become a cheerleader for those wanting to make their own life changes, “If a French-trained Southern chef can do it, you can, too!”
She is the former TV kitchen director for Martha Stewart, Bobby Flay, and Nathalie Dupree; has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants; and traveled the world producing food stories – from making cheese in California to escargot farming in France. She has appeared on Food Network's Chopped, CBS This Morning, Fox Family and Friends, Martha Stewart Living, and as a judge on Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
Virginia has also been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, People Magazine, Eater, and Food52 and has contributed to Eating Well, Garden & Gun, and Bon Appétit, and more. The Chicago Tribune praised her as one of "Seven Food Writers You Need to Know." Her legion of fans loves her down-to-earth attitude and approachable spirit. Learn more about Virginia and follow her good and good for you recipes and traveling exploits at www.virginiawillis.com.
Georgia born French-trained chef Virginia Willis has foraged for berries in the Alaskan wilderness, harvested capers in the shadow of a smoldering volcano in Sicily, and beguiled celebrities such as Jane Fonda, Bill Clinton, Morgan Freeman, and Julie Chrisley with her cooking.
She is a chef instructor for the streaming service Food Network Kitchen as well as a James Beard award-winning cookbook author. Her books include Secrets of the Southern Table, Lighten Up, Y’all, Bon Appétit, Y’all, Basic to Brilliant, Y’all, Okra, and Grits.
Beginning in 2019 Virginia lost 65 pounds and has kept if off for over two years. In 2022, her health journey has been documented in Eating Well magazine, as a cover story for Woman’s World, and in the August issue of All Recipes magazine.
Virginia has embraced her new outlook on life and has become a cheerleader for those wanting to make their own life changes, “If a French-trained Southern chef can do it, you can, too!”
She is the former TV kitchen director for Martha Stewart, Bobby Flay, and Nathalie Dupree; has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants; and traveled the world producing food stories – from making cheese in California to escargot farming in France. She has appeared on Food Network's Chopped, CBS This Morning, Fox Family and Friends, Martha Stewart Living, and as a judge on Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
Virginia has also been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, People Magazine, Eater, and Food52 and has contributed to Eating Well, Garden & Gun, and Bon Appétit, and more. The Chicago Tribune praised her as one of "Seven Food Writers You Need to Know." Her legion of fans loves her down-to-earth attitude and approachable spirit. Learn more about Virginia and follow her good and good for you recipes and traveling exploits at www.virginiawillis.com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 25, 2025
This was more so a book than a cook book.
I've eaten and grown okra my entire life and yet, I learned more about it from this little volume that every before.
While this isn't your average cookbook with gorgeous photos and thousands of recipes, its a book that takes the humble okra and shares its history and honored traditions.
I've eaten and grown okra my entire life and yet, I learned more about it from this little volume that every before.
While this isn't your average cookbook with gorgeous photos and thousands of recipes, its a book that takes the humble okra and shares its history and honored traditions.
May 10, 2017
I enjoyed Okra: a Savor the South cookbook by Virginia Willis. I am a fan of fried okra and this cookbook gives me other options besides frying.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes or would like to okra.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes or would like to okra.
October 22, 2017
I have been working my way through each recipe over this sunmer’s harvest. I’ve cooked okra in unexpected ways and along the way converted my partner who was indifferent to the vegetable into an okra fan. Many thanks to the chef and author.
August 8, 2021
Must try some of these! Good variety of southern and international.
February 5, 2024
Exactly what you would expect. Many recipes with okra as the star. A neat book for okra fans.
December 19, 2024
A very well-rounded and informative book about the illustrious pod.
April 26, 2014
I LOVE okra, so I knew I had to see this book when I heard about it. I've also found that okra is really easy to grow and have beautiful flowers! This book does a great job of giving an overview of okra - how it's used in cuisine, how it grows, some heirloom breeds, tips for growing it and how to save it or cook it. Then it gets into the recipes, which are divided into two categories - southern and global. I'm a southerner and I grew up eating okra and now I love growing it in my garden too. Most southerners have "their" way of cooking okra and I do too, but I did find a few recipes I want to try out. Overall I thought it was a great "ode to okra."
June 27, 2014
Review to follow soon.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews