Baked Chicken With Okra And Tomatoes (Kotopoulo me Bamies in Greek) is a delicious summer dish that even those who dislike okra tend to enjoy! In this recipe, okra is firm yet soft to the bite, not mushy and slimy. And combined with the chicken results in a delicious and filling meal.

Table Of Contents
Fresh Or Frozen Okra?
You can use both! Greek chicken with okra is a dish best made during the warmer months of the year. This means June and July mostly when fresh okra is in its prime season. And when you can also find some sweet and ripe tomatoes for this dish.
You can, of course, make this dish any time during the year by using frozen okra and canned tomatoes. Use the whole canned tomatoes and pulse them in a blender or food processor. You will need 1 (400-gram/ 14-oz) tin.

What Does Okra Taste Like?
Okra tastes like green beans and peppers combined into one. It's a delicious vegetable that gets undermined due to the slime it releases when cooked. There are ways to avoid this though and enjoy this really healthy vegetable!
Preparing Okra
When okra comes into contact with heat and a neutral pH liquid it will soften, open, and release slime. To avoid this, you have to pre-cook/marinate okra with something very acidic like vinegar (lemon juice works too).

To Prepare Fresh Okra: First, trim the stem in a cylindrical fashion. Do not cut and remove it. Second, rinse and drain. Spread on a sheet pan and drizzle with plenty of vinegar and some salt. Toss to mix well and then place in a warm place to sit for about 1 hour.
In Greece, this is traditionally done under the hot sun. But you can also do this inside a warm oven. Not warmer than 40°C / 105°F. Then cook the okra as instructed on step 6 of the recipe.
To Prepare Frozen Okra: Thaw in a big bowl with cold water. Then drain in a strainer. Heat a non-stick frying pan and toss in the okra. No need to add any oil. All we want is to drain the okra at this point. Pour in some vinegar and cook until it drains completely. When stirring okra in the beginning you may see some strings of slime. The more it drains the more these will go away.

The Chicken
I'm using a whole chicken (actually half of a whole chicken) weighing about 1300 grams. Or you can use a whole small chicken weighing about 1500 grams.
Cut the chicken into quarters and roast for a couple of minutes before adding the remaining ingredients to the pan. You can also make this recipe using only drumsticks or just chicken thighs.

It's best made with bone-in chicken but if you want to use chicken breasts skip the pre-roasting step. And add to the pan together with the potatoes, okra, and the tomato sauce.
How To Make
Here's how to make baked chicken with okra and tomatoes...
Step 1). Roast the chicken for about 15 minutes.
Step 2). Prepare the okra as mentioned above.
Step 3). Make the tomato sauce, by sauteing onion and garlic. Then add tomato paste and fresh grated tomatoes.

Step 4). Add the potatoes, okra, and chopped parsley to the baking pan containing the chicken.
Step 5). Spread the sauce on top and pour some water into the pan from the side.

Step 6). Cover and bake for about an hour. I cover the pan with parchment paper and then add 1-2 pieces of aluminum foil on top to secure in place.
Step 7). Uncover and bake for 20-30 minutes longer.

Serve With
A big piece of salty feta cheese is what we serve with Bamies (okra) in Greece. You can also cube some Kasseri cheese and toss it in the pan for about 5 minutes before taking the food out of the oven. It will melt and add a delicious cheesy goodness to the dish.
As for side dishes, a Saganaki with Feta cheese, or a Saganaki with Kefalotyri or Graviera cheese go best!
Recipe

Chicken With Okra
Ingredients
- 1200 to 1500 grams (2.6 -3.3 pounds) chicken cut in quarters
- 450 grams (1 pound) okra if using fresh see notes below
- 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 100 grams (1 small) onion minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 750 grams (4 large) very ripe tomatoes
- 50 grams (½ medium-sized) sweet red pepper finely chopped
- 450 grams (2 medium-sized) potatoes peeled and cut into thin wedges
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
Instructions
- Prepare the okra. If using frozen okra thaw in a bowl with water and then drain in a strainer. If using fresh please See Notes Below.
- Prepare the tomatoes. Grate the tomatoes using a box grater and discard the skins. Keep the grated tomato pulp in a bowl to use for making the sauce.
- Preheat oven to 230°C / 445°F.
- Add chicken into a baking pan (I used a 12-inch (31 cm) round pan) and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Roast the chicken for 15 minutes. Then take the pan out of the oven and drop the temperature to 200°C / 390°F. While the chicken is baking prepare the okra.
- Prepare the okra. Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the okra and cook for about 5 minutes tossing every now and then. Or until the okra drains.
- Pour in the vinegar and cook until okra absorbs it all. Remove the okra from the pan and set it aside in a bowl.
- Heat the remaining 5 tablespoons of olive oil in the same pan.
- Saute the onion and garlic over medium heat until softened.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a minute.
- Add the grated tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and raise the heat to high.
- Cook the sauce until it thickens.
- Lay the potato wedges all around the chicken.
- Add the okra on top, and sprinkle with parsley.
- Coat everything with the sauce. Then pour 2 cups hot water into the pan from the side (or just enough water to partly cover the food) cover the pan with parchment paper and secure with aluminum foil on top.
- Bake for about 1 hour. At this point run a knife through one of the potatoes to check if they're cooked. If not bake for a little longer.
- Uncover and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes.
- Serve. Ideally, let the food stand inside the warm oven (with the door open) covered for 30 minutes before serving it will be even more delicious!





An amazing recipe.
As good as it gets
Bravo Fotini
Thank you Andrew!