Farmer's Market Creation: Stewed Heirloom Tomatoes and Okra Over Brown Rice

I'm introducing a new feature here at A Professor's Kitchen called Farmer's Market Creations.

Living in New England meant I could find local fresh produce any old time I wanted -- it's kind of their thing. There are plenty of other places that haven't rabidly embraced the local/organic/sustainable trifecta, Lake Charles being one of them. Never fear! Charlestown is here! Every Saturday from 8 until noon, there's a farmer's market on Ryan Street right across from the old city hall.

Farmer's Market Creations are inspired by my favorite challenge:
1.) Go to your local farmer's market.
2.) See what looks good.
3.) Come up with a dish using what looks good.

So, this dish is made from the things that looked good at the farmer's market and the stuff I already had in my pantry.

Farmer's Market Ingredients:

First up, heirloom tomatoes

So magical

Nothing tastes like a real tomato. The things you find in the grocery store just can't match it. These had unbelievable flavor.

The other thing I couldn't resist was some great-looking fresh okra, which I neglected to take a photo of by itself. It was pre-sliced and had a mild, fresh flavor.

So, what does a good Southern girl make with tomatoes and okra? Yeah, you know what's up.

Notes: Remember that brown rice (a) takes more liquid than regular rice and (b) takes much longer than regular rice. Give yourself 45 minutes for the rice to cook. Luckily, you can simmer the okra and tomatoes while the rice cooks. Once the 45 minutes is up, you'll still see liquid in the pot. Never fear, it's cooked. Brown rice is just wetter than white rice.

Since I had lots of time, I decided to try to caramelize the onions. I'm not very good at this: I either burn them or I don't get them brown enough. This try was no exception; they weren't as caramelized as I would have liked, but they were still good.

You may need to add a little water to the pan once you put in the tomatoes, okra, and beans. It depends on how juicy your tomatoes are. If it looks too dry, add just a little water to start with. Once you put the lid on and start simmering, the veggies will produce their own delicious juices.

Ingredients:

For rice:
2 1/4 cups of stock (I used chicken stock)
1 cup brown rice (plain, not quick-cooking)
2 tablespoons of butter

For tomato and okra mixture:
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon of butter
4 heirloom tomatoes, diced
2 cups sliced okra
2 tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 15 oz. can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
10 drops Tabasco
1 capful of liquid smoke
Salt
Pepper

Start by cooking the rice. Add butter to a 2-quart sauce pan and let it melt. Add rice and toast until it smells nutty or about 2 minutes. Pour in the stock, give it a stir, and bring everything to a simmer. Put the lid on and simmer for 45 minutes.

While the rice cooks, prep the other ingredients.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and sweat the onions over medium-low heat for 20 minutes until tender and golden brown. Add garlic, tomatoes, okra, beans, thyme, liquid smoke, and Tabasco. Season the onions with salt and pepper, then season the entire mixture with salt and pepper. Simmer the mixture for another 20 minutes. By that time, your rice should be almost done.

Spoon some rice into a serving bowl and ladle the tomato and okra mixture over the rice. Enjoy!